Grand Theft Auto: Luo Yang
by HarborRat
Summary: DW Grand Theft Auto crossover.  Luo Yang is about to become a battleground as it's prominant businessmen scheme for control of the city.
1. Line in the Sand

AN: This is a repost of a story I started a few years ago but ended up deleting from FFN due to some issues with formatting rules and the everchanging ratings. I've finally gotten around to editing it for the site again and so here is Grand Theft Auto: Luo Yang; a crossover of GTA and Dynasty Warriors.

There is a character guide available for this story which gives a general overview of the character histories, alliances and other essentials. The link is available on my profile page. I highly suggest reading that before beginning this fic.

Disclaimer: Rockstar games owns Grand Theft Auto; Koei Corp owns Dynasty Warriors. No infringement intended, this is a simple non-profit work of fanfiction.

* * *

GTA: Luo Yang

Chapter 1

The Line in the Sand

* * *

_[Imperial Seal Bank Parking Garage __12:00__noon_

Lu Bu sat in the parking garage waiting patiently. He flipped through the folder Diao Chan had given him again. Three names, three bodies. Ma Teng, the old man, then the two sons Ma Tie and Ma Xiu. One other profile was in the folder, but his name didn't have a red 'X' next to it. Apparently Cao Cao needed the youngest alive for something. Curiously he read through the stats on the boy. Twenty-one, Luo Yong University architecture student. Probably saw a lot of action; he wasn't a bad looking guy, the kind that chicks really swoon over. Too bad his life was going to be ruined in a matter of hours, ah well. Life sucks, right? He slapped the folder shut and checked his Desert Eagle again to make sure the magazine was full, yup. Of course it was. He held the gun in his hands and waited for the Ma Family to appear, he did not have to wait long.

Ma Teng fumbled with his keys as he exited the elevator with his two boys. The application for the second mortgage on the farm had taken so long, it was as if they were honestly trying to kill him right there. Tie and Xiu were chatting back and forth about a bank teller they had been staring at. _Boys will be boys_. He finally found the slim GM key and picked his head up to find the old Blazer amused that someone had parked their fancy sports car next to the rusted out old thing. He swung around the bumper and nodded to the gentlemen that got out of the car. Then he froze.

Lu Bu grinned and put a fifty caliber bullet between the old man's eyes. Then without moving his arm he put another one through the eldest kid's heart. Contemplating where he wanted to shoot the last one he walked around to stare at the horrified man's face before emptying the magazine into his chest. With one hand he ejected the magazine and put in a second with his free hand. First he looked over the old man. _Teng__, check_, then he moved over to the second victim. _Tie, check_. Finally he looked at the third who was still twitching a bit, so he put another round in his skull. _Xiu__, check_. He cracked his knuckles and put the weapon back in his shoulder holster, it was time for lunch with Chan.

* * *

_(Luo Yang PD Precinct) __12:22 pm_

"Yo! Tai, we got one. Whole family executed in the bank parking garage!" Gan Ning shoved a donut into his mouth as he talked and got sugar glazing all over the folder as he handed it off to his partner.

Zhou Tai dusted off the folder irritated. "Dammit Ning, why the hell do you have to be such a stereotype?" He scratched his chin and opened the folder.

"Can't you read that in the car?" Ning picked up his coffee mug and cell phone in his left arm and shoved another donut in his mouth so he could use his free hand to grab a handful of Hershey's kisses out of the desk drawer.

"And let you drive?" Tai shook his head, all these years that they had been together and Ning's habits still disgusted him.

"Uhhhuhh" He nodded as he tried to chew on the donut without biting off a piece and dropping it.

"It's not the whole family you moron, the youngest is still alive. Details are important Ning. We got this kid's address? Uh…Ma Chao?" He closed the folder.

"Mmmmm." Ning spilled some coffee on himself and dropped his cell phone as he pulled a crumpled post-it out of his shirt pocket. He handed it to Tai.

"I'll get your jacket and phone, dumbass." He stuck the post-it in the folder and picked the phone up off the ground. It had already been dropped twice today, amazing that it still displayed time. With a huff of annoyance he grabbed Ning's wrinkled 'dress' jacket and headed for the door.

* * *

(_Wei International HQ) CEO Office __12:32 pm_

"I think you might want to head downtown, to the parking garage near the bank." Cao Cao yawned as he checked over the contract again.

"Small crew ok?" Xu Huang asked as he poured himself a drink.

"Just a couple of bodies, nothing big." Cao scratched out a line and jotted down some notes in the margin.

"You should get some rest sir, you're looking a bit worn out." Huang swirled his cognac.

"Well after this acquisition is put through, I'll rest a bit more comfortably."

"Then I'll be off."

* * *

_(Imperial Seal Bank) Parking Garage __12:59 pm_

"Yup, they're dead." Ning announced as he looked over the bodies and chalk lines on the pavement.

"Good work detective." Tai mumbled with a heavy dose of sarcasm. He bent down to look at the father, car keys still in his hand. Shot through the head, .50 cal. He sighed and looked at the parking space next to the Blazer, no tracks. Of course not, he was a professional and professionals don't leave behind incriminating evidence.

"So you gonna tell the kid?" Ning asked, not wanting to leave the gruesome scene.

"Yeah. Last time I left that to you, the city got sued."

* * *

_(Sun Times) Editor-in-chiefs office __1:31 pm_

"I can't believe this day is going so damned slow! Let's go get a drink, eh?" Sun Ce asked Zhou Yu who looked up from his computer with annoyance.

"I have a job to do, and it's not entertaining you!" Yu kept typing.

"Come on, Luo Yong will survive without an editorial from the great Zhou Yu! Oh here's an idea, procrastinate! Put it off till tomorrow, and let's go get a drink or two."

"Ce, it's one thirty in the afternoon. Why don't you just go play some more Sims on your computer in your own office?"

"You are a work-a-holic. You need a break."

"You need to do something or else my next editorial is going to be about nepotism and the ruin of the Sun family."

"Like what? I'm so bored!"

"Why don't you go play reporter, like you used to in the old days. Just like when we were in school. Here," Yu handed him a notepad and pen, "Go get me a story."

"I make more money then you, why would I do something so beneath me."

"To get out of the building and write off a drive around the city." Zhou Yu coughed, "Besides I just got your little comment on tape and it will be in your father's office in ten seconds if you don't leave me be."

"Some best friend you are!"

"Right now I'm the guy who runs Sun Times, and you are the worthless son of the boss. At five, we can go back to being friends."

"Cool! I'll pick up a movie or something!"

"No, no porn. We can't have you supporting a Wei business. Get a video game."

* * *

_(Dynasty Meadows Apartment Complex) __1:42 pm_

Ma Chao shuffled his sketches together and dropped them on his drafting table. He need to take a shower and get to work soon, there was enough sketching to be done at Shu Construction to satisfy his creative needs. He looked around the garden apartment he shared with his roommate, Zhao Yun and saw the pile of bills that needed to go out. He could easily drop them in the mail on his way out to Cheng Du, now where the hell were his keys? He tossed a pillow off the coffee table. Nothing. Perhaps they were still next to his pile of books and lecture notes….ah yes. Then his attention was directed to the door. A powerful knock, odd for any of the girls that he or Yun took home. He opened the door.

An extremely tall man with sad eyes stood in front of him. _Figures, they always show up as I'm ready to leave. _ "Look man, I don't want any."

"Ah, my name's Detective Zhou Tai. I'm with the Lou Yong Police…..homicide division. I was hoping I could talk with you for a moment."

"Why?" Chao got an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Did he say homicide?"

"There's been a shooting, and I need you to identify some bodies. Your father and brothers were killed this afternoon, I'm very sorry. "

Chao just stared at the man in stunned silence.

"I know this is hard but I need you to come downtown with me….so we can nab the bastard that did this."

"I'll get dressed. Please come in….help yourself to anything you find." Chao wandered back into the apartment, leaving the door open for the cop. He heard the door close but kept moving into his bedroom. Something told him he needed to have a shirt and shoes to go to the police station…yes they would appreciate that.

Zhou Tai sat down on the couch and shifted his Colt 1911 .45 under his arm a bit more. He let his eyes wander around the apartment, obviously a bachelor pad. Two guys, probably good friends both professionals. The place was neat and well decorated but functional. He looked over the coffee table, _Dwell_ magazine? Never heard of that one. He flipped open the magazine and came across an ad for a $5300 stainless steel door and promptly let the pages fall back in place. Something a man like him had no business reading, it would only scare him knowing what the rich did with their money. He searched for more information, credit card offers, empty glasses, a PS2 controller…the mail. He pushed the annoying AOL cd out of the way and noticed the kid's grade report open on the table. Impressive: 'A's in everything, 4.0 GPA, 20 hours worth of classes. He was bound to graduate Magna Cum Laude, top of his class…..until now. Only one more semester to go and Tai knew it would ruin four long years of dedicated work. He had seen it all before….even if Ma Chao did make it back to his classes after taking care of his father's estate, he wouldn't be able to focus and the grades…..he would be lucky if he could still graduate when planned. His life would be completely sidetracked. Family gone, career damaged and not to mention the anguish from burying the only three people he had in the world. Tai closed his eyes, _please let me be wrong_. He looked up as the Ma family survivor came out fully dressed and searching for his phone.

Chao quickly hit the speed dial for Yun's cell. Answer dammit! _You've reached the voice mailbox of Zhao Yun, please leave a brief message your name and number and I'll get back to you as quickly as I can. _"Hey, Zilong…..Uh call me would you?" He hung up…he couldn't even get the words out. How was he going to deal with seeing his dad and brothers on metal slabs?

* * *

_(SCI) Main Office __4:00 pm_

"Zilong?" Liu Bei wandered out of his office and looked over at the center office area. He looked over at the clock again, it was now 4:00. It was very unlike Ma Chao to be late and he was worried. Maybe Yun would know where his roommate was, perhaps he just neglected to inform his boss of a prior engagement.

"Hello? Yes?" ZhaoYun shot out the door of the file room on a swivel chair with a laptop resting on his legs. "Sir! Yes Sir!"

"Don't be a jackass." Bei tried to frown.

"Sorry, just happy with human contact. I've been in the chamber over there all day." He sighed and looked at the time. "All damned day."

"Did Chao have an appointment or something? He hasn't come in yet." Bei leaned against the desk.

"No, not that I know of, and he would have told you if he did. Let me check my phone." Yun pushed off the desk and sent the chair flying across the room to his briefcase. "Yup, one missed call……and none other than Ma Chao the splendid. Hmmmm, you better have a good excuse, buddy." He put his ear to the phone and listened letting his face show his concern once he heard the distressed call.

"What? What's wrong?"

"Didn't say, but something is off." He hit the call back button and listened to the ring. "Come'on Mengqi, answer."

"_Hel__….hello_?"

"Hey! Where the hell are you?" He heard the hesitation, his friend rarely ever hesitated. Then there was the overwhelming sorrow that carried across the line.

"_Police station_."

"What, why? What's happened?" Yun stood up and put the laptop down on the console table. "What's going on Chao?"

"_My family's gone."_

"Gone? What do you mean gone?"

"_Shot…all of them…at the bank."_

"What…" Yun couldn't believe what he was hearing. He looked to Liu Bei who didn't have the slightest idea what was going on, other than it was bad news.

"_They're dead_."

"I'll be there as soon as I can."

"_Thanks_."

Yun hung up and looked at his phone, still in disbelief. This was something that happened, but not to anyone you knew. "His family's been killed, shot at the bank."

"No….."

"I'm going to see what I can do."

* * *

_(Imperial Seal Bank) 4:__04 pm_

Xu Huang arrived at the bank parking garage with his crew. As soon as he opened the door, he didn't even get a chance to put his foot on the curb. He was stopped by an angry Gan Ning. "Need I remind you of the freedom of the press, Detective Gan?" Huang snorted

"I just find it interesting you boys at WWEI always know where to show up." Ning put his hand on the door of the van.

"Set up on the sidewalk, guys, hopefully we can get a nice shot of the bodies as they leave."

"They're already gone. Looks like you're too late. Better pack up and see what you can dig up outside the precinct." Ning slammed the door narrowly avoiding crushing Xu Huang's fingers.

"I can't help but wonder if you rushed this crime scene inspection, detective. I might have to launch an investigation of my own into the shoddy practices of the cities finest." Xu Huang growled through the open window.

"You do that and I'll give you a chance to investigate how efficient the doctors at Luo Yong General Hospital really are." He smiled. "Bye now."

"Please do, I'd like nothing more than to have your badge taken away. I might even add that to my resume."

* * *

_(LYPD) Room #__3 4:35 pm_

Ma Chao fumbled with his cell phone at the empty table in the investigation room. Zhou Tai had disappeared momentarily to get them both coffee. He didn't really know what to do, this was still not clicking in his head. His dad had gone to the bank this morning to apply for another mortgage. They needed a new combine and the new combines cost somewhere around a quarter of a million dollars. They couldn't lease one because Dad's credit was shot. Tie and Xiu had gone with him, they were just as invested in the farm as he was. He was the only one who wasn't there, because he had to be different. He had to want something better.

"Hey, how you doing?" Tai returned with two cups of steaming hot coffee in his hands. He had opened the door using his back and stepped aside to let the door shut behind him.

"I'm really not too sure."

"Here, it's awful but it's potent. Your taste buds will die off in the first swig thanks to the 1.0 ph levels." He put the cup down.

"Thanks again."

"I thought you might want to know your friend, Zhao Yun, is outside waiting for you. Kind of abrasive, isn't he?"

"Just when he is concerned." Chao smiled. Good ole Zilong.

"Look, the coroner just called up…..they're here. You ready for this?" Tai asked knowing there would never be a good time to show a man his only kin laying on cold stainless steel gurneys.

"Sure."

* * *

_(Luo Yang) Downtown __4:38__ pm_

Sun Ce blew through a red light in his Dodge Viper and waved politely as a woman in her monstrous SUV honked at him. Nothing at all was happening. He tried giving his sister a call, but she wasn't home. He knew for a fact that she didn't have classes today so that meant she was in some guy's apartment. Shang was developing a nasty habit of having one night stands. Suddenly the familiar blue van of WWEI TV went flying by in the opposite direction. Years of Zhou Yu beating things into his brain made him curious. Where the hell were they heading so quickly? If Yu knew that there was a story about to break, he would have called him. Some nonsense about earning his pay. So he made a U-turn in the middle of the road and took off after the news van. By god he was going to have a story!

* * *

_(LYPD) 5:__02 pm_

Ma Chao stepped out of the precinct in a daze. Zhao Yun was behind him, thanking Zhou Tai for his help and exchanging contact info. He couldn't get the image of his dad, with a huge hole in his head staring blankly back at him, out of his head. Then there was a flash of light and he looked up confused.

"Behind me is a familiar scene in Luo Yong, the image of a man's life destroyed by the out of control crime in this city." Xu Huang gave the camera his best solemn look as the cameraman filmed him against the background of the police station.

"Sir!" Sun Ce ran up the stairs with his notepad in hand. "Sun Ce, _Sun Times_. Can I have a moment of your time?"

"Uhhh." Chao looked around. Where the hell did they come from?

"Tell me how does it feel to have your family executed in cold blood…." Ce felt a hit then heard a snap. Before he knew it he was on the ground with blood flowing freely from his broken nose.

"Tell me how that felt." Chao growled and was immediately pulled away by Zhao Yun.

"You stupid son of a bitch." Tai yanked his brother's idiot friend off the ground and dragged him into the station.

"To add to the horror of the situation, the heartless Sun family makes a mockery of this man's sorrow. How can we leave a police commissioner in office when he doesn't stop this senseless killing and his supporters come to belittle the victims on these stairs of injustice?" Huang could almost see the smile creeping across his boss's face. Yes, Cao Cao would be pleased with this assignment.

* * *

(_Imperial Estates Condos) 5:32 pm_

Tai stood before the penthouse door and knocked loudly. He dropped Sun Ce off at the hospital to get his nose bent back into shape and gave Yu a tip on where to find his lost pet. Yu was about as thrilled with the phone call as an alcoholic at last call. Tai had strongly advised Ce on the drive over to the emergency room that filing charges would be the dumbest thing he ever did. Ce was fairly abusive back and Tai barely had the restraint to not put his nose back himself. That was the last act of his work day and now he was on to more unpleasant obligations. There was someone that knew about the murder today, and he needed to see if he could get anything out of him. He growled as he heard a chuckle before the door opened.

"Hey Setsuna, long time no see." Lu Bu smiled as he dried his sandy brown hair off with a towel.

"I told you never to call me that." Tai brushed past him and into the spacious apartment.

"Awww, but those were the good old days. When we played on the same team, remember?" Lu Bu tossed the towel aside and adjusted the one around his waist. "Something to drink?"

"I only drink with friends."

"Oh that stings." Lu Bu laughed. "So how's Sea Master? Still your faithful partner?"

"Stop trying to bring up the past. We don't go by those names anymore, Sky Scorcher."

"That's obvious." Bu handed his former friend a tumbler.

"What are you getting yourself into? This Ma family hit, it was your work."

"Oh?" he sat down on the couch and turned on the TV, Sportscenter would be on soon.

"Fine, play dumb if you want, I know your game. You left the youngest alive, why?"

"Oh, darling, is that nasty cop harassing you?" Diao Chan strolled out of the bedroom wearing a tight tee-shirt and very revealing cheer shorts.

"Just an old pal, someone I used to run with back in the day." He took a sip of his martini. "You haven't met Diao Chan have you?"

"No, but I am familiar with your work as well." Tai looked her over. She was absolutely gorgeous, but that was no surprise. Lu Bu liked the best, and that is what he surrounded himself with.

"Chan, this is Zhou Tai, crime fighter extraordinaire."

"Oh a hero." Chan leaned over the back of the couch to give her man a kiss, although her obvious motive was to give Tai a glimpse of her perfect body.

"That's Tai. Oh and I see that brother of yours has finally gotten his Masters degree in sensationalist bullshit, pass on my congratulations. I remember how well we used to get along." Lu Bu slapped the _Sun Times_ into Tai's stomach.

"A free world, if he wants to take a crack at your boss, so be it." Tai sighed as he looked at Yu's editorial. _Dung Zhuo: Tyrant of Luo Yong_, yes his brother had a way with words. Yu would be extra happy to hear about a visit to Lu Bu. His old friend had done his share of damage to the younger Zhou in high school.

"Won't matter this coming election anyhow." Lu Bu flipped around and stopped on Cartoon Network, _Samurai Jack_ was on. "Never does."


	2. Mia Familia

_GTA: Luo Yong_

Chapter 2

**Mia Familia**

* * *

_[Sun__ Mansion__ 6:00 pm_

"To add to the horror of the situation, the heartless Sun family makes a mockery of this man's sorrow. How can we leave a police commissioner in office when he doesn't stop this senseless killing and his supporters come to belittle the victims on these stairs of injustice?"

Sun Jian hit the power button on his remote control. He looked over at Sun Ce who had his head tilted back over the plush leather chair and an ice pack on his nose. "That's fantastic. The paycheck from Cao Cao will be arriving by courier in a matter of minutes, I'm sure."

"Oh pop, it's not half as bad as it looks." Ce smiled his famous smile without tilting his head forward.

"Oh? So destroying the integrity of the _Times_, shaming the Sun family name, compromising Yuan Shao's mayoral bid…."

"Ok, maybe it's worse than I thought." Ce put his head up and took the ice pack off.

"Perhaps." Jian snapped and ran his hand through his hair. "I'm so fucking angry with you right now I don't even know where to begin! What the hell were you thinking?"

"Er….I just spoke my mind…you know."

"Yes, because _that_ never got you in trouble before." Jian picked up a vase filled with roses from the garden and threw it at his son.

Ce ducked at the vase swooshed over his head. "Easy pop! Your blood pressure! And my nose!"

"Yes my blood pressure. Why don't you just stab me with that letter opener and get it over with instead of trying to kill me slowly with your stupidity!" Jian looked for something else to throw.

"I'm going to let you cool down and then maybe. No not that!" Ce hid behind the desk as the little bronze dragon statue that represented the Imperial Seal flew across the room. The statue hit the wall and punched into the drywall. The body of the dragon hung up on the sheetrock and stayed them momentarily before falling to the floor with a hollow thud. Thank god bronze was stout or else he'd have to replace that damned thing.

"Get out. Send in Zhou Yu, the son I should have had!" Jiang crossed his arms and watched his boy beat a retreat out the door.

* * *

_[Xi Liang Farms __6:15 pm_

Ma Chao blinked again as he looked at the pile of bills that was still sitting on the kitchen table. Most of them were overdue, and he had no idea it was this bad. How could they keep this from him, especially when dad was paying his tuition instead of electric bill? He looked back at the check book and business ledger, there was nothing here. Last years crop was bad, apparently a lot worse then they said. The old Deere was in pieces in the shed. Tie had been trying his hand at fixing the tractor, but it looked like the damned thing just needed to be put out of its misery. Dad was always so picky about the equipment, why had it broken down?

"Hey, here's some coffee." Yun handed him a cup and looked at the mess of papers. "Any luck?"

"They're….I'm…bankrupt."

"Look, let me give Jiang Wei a call, maybe he can sort this shit out. I've been reviewing those ledgers from last year and I don't know what to think. It seems like there was just a string of real bad luck and a lot of deductions."

"Yeah, that's what I see too." Chao put the coffee mug down and picked up an envelope that was lying on his dad's desk. "Then there was this."

Yun took the manila envelope and inspected it. It was addressed to the Xi Liang Farms, but it was from Dynasty Homes. He slipped the papers out of the envelope. Dynasty Homes was offering to purchase the farmland from Ma Teng, but the price was kind of low. If they were looking to acquire such a large chunk of land for a subdivision, the developers usually weren't afraid to offer quite a bit more. They would build a poorly constructed two-story home on a ½ acres parcel and charge $150,000 and up for it. That was how Dynasty homes worked. They would develop a small 100 acre section at first then allow the community to grow a bit. The demand for new schools would arise and taxes would increase. That would drive out the people that had lived there forever and suddenly new people would move in. The property values would increase because of the desire to live in the 'country'. It also meant that this farmhouse they were in, the beautiful brick farmhouse that Ma Chao was born in, would meet with a bulldozer and lose. Then they would rip into the old barn and the equipment shed. And in a day nothing would be left of this once great homestead. That's why the letter was still in the envelope. Ma Teng would have never let that happen. "Where does this price fall in relation to…."

"Dead on." Chao looked at the ledger. "It would wipe the debt clean, all of it."

"I'm calling Jiang Wei, there's got to be another option."

"Yun, I don't think there is. I don't have any money. Even if I came back to run the farm by myself, I couldn't. The tractor's busted and if Tie couldn't fix it….hell I can't even figure out why my truck's leaking oil. That doesn't even matter, I don't have a combine that works. We need to harvest the crops and there's no money to even pay Han Sui to do it this year. That's why they were going for the mortgage. They needed a new combine" Chao said it sadly. He might have been able to help if he was done with school and working full-time.

"Maybe Wei can find something." Yun grabbed his friend's shoulder and squeezed. _Please let there be another way._

"I'm going to go outside and see my horse." Chao got up and walked outside carrying a lantern. No electric and he was still in school. He let the tears fall for the family that loved him so much…..

* * *

_[Sun__Mansion __7:30 pm_

Sun Shang Xiang drove her Red Jeep Wrangler up to the gate at Sun Mansion. Murdoch, her 82 lb Boxer, tried to jump out of the car and say 'hi'. Shang laughed as he jerked against his seat harness and whimpered his pouty Boxer whimper. She waved at the guard as he noticed her then she turned up her stereo. She needed some Bon Jovi before she listened to whatever family crisis was dragging her here. Then she noticed Zhou Tai pulling up behind her in his beat up old Ram. He was having a difficult time with old Sima Shi.

"HEY!" Shang hollered over the melodious voice of Jon Bon Jovi.

"Lady Sun?" Sima Shi asked

"He's with me!" She smiled and waved at Tai.

"Proceed then." Shi ducked back into his guard house.

Shang continued down the drive and parked, crooked, as close to the door as she could. She turned off the Jeep and looked over as Tai parked next to her. She hopped out, it had been such a long time since she saw Zhou Yu's sexy older brother "So did you get Sun S.O.S. on your cell too?" She asked flirtatiously.

"You still hitting on me? After all these years?" Tai slid out of his truck and pet Murdoch who wiped jowly bits on his hand. "New pup?"

"I got him three years ago. She unhooked her dog and watched as the giant Boxer leapt all over Tai. "He's obnoxious, but it's my fault. I raised him."

"I recall you being quite energetic and obnoxious too." He grinned as Murdoch bounced off his truck and ran inside the mansion.

"Why didn't we ever hit it off?" She asked coyly.

"Hmmm… Well you're seven years younger than me and that's always been illegal. Then there's the fact that I don't like Bon Jovi." He pushed her into her Jeep.

"I'm twenty-one now." She flashed her eyelashes at him. "And I can make you like it."

"Still makes me old." He looked at the house. "So you going to let me in? I need to harass my brother about something."

"Oh? Is that all?"

"Come on." He put his arm out for her and she eagerly took it.

"I'm legal now."

"Sure princess." He winced as he stomped on his foot.

"I told you not to call me that!"

"I'm old enough that senility is kicking in, I must have forgotten." Tai smirked.

* * *

_[Wei__Palace __7:45 pm_

Cao Cao tossed another three pills into his mouth and swallowed them. This damned headache was driving him insane. He looked over at the clock and drank some water. Guo Jia, his attorney, should be here soon. He was a good man, humoring his at this hour.

"Father?" Cao Pi knocked on the study door.

"Yeah?" Cao rubbed his head.

"Gua Jia is here, shall I send him in?"

"Son, why are you acting as a servant?"

"I know you were waiting on him……I saw him come in."

"From now on, let the servants do the job I pay them to do."

"Yes, sir." Pi closed the door, it seemed like his father was always scolding him for one thing or another. He walked down the hall towards the main entrance. He almost walked into his younger brother Zhi who was walking around with a notebook and a pen.

"You look like you just got yelled at again." Zhi smiled.

"I swear to god those damned headaches are getting more frequent. Maybe we should call that doctor again, Hua Tuo." Pi looked back at the study. Maybe then his father wouldn't be so quick to jump down his throat.

"Better not make any decisions for him Pi." Zhi kept walking and jotted down another line of poetry in his notepad.

"Yeah." He saw Guo Jia waiting near the door talking to a bodyguard. "My father is in his study, Jia."

"Thanks Pi. Oh and I'm told congratulations are in order. You snagged a beautiful fiancé."

"Yes." Pi blushed, he still couldn't believe it.

Jia patted the young man's arm. "Better not keep the old man waiting huh?" He briskly walked to the study and opened the door. "Hello Mengde, how are you old friend?"

"About ready to beat my head against the wall." Cao sighed and handed him the contract. "See what you think."

"Finally acquiring the Xi Liang Farm?" Jia sat down and thought about it. "Oh, I do believe I heard about that tragedy on the news."

"Yes, truly tragic. Unfortunate for that poor kid that the farm was going bankrupt before his family was killed. So much for a young man to handle." Cao took another drink. He almost forgot he had to meet with Lu Bu tonight to hand over the money to clear his tab. Great.

"Cao, why don't you see that doctor again? Those pills aren't helping." Jia looked over as he rubbed his temples.

"I'll call him tomorrow. I need to have this contract ready to present tomorrow."

"You're initializing it?" Jia asked and scribbled some notes in the top left hand corner.

"Yeah. I'm going to see to this one personally. After we close on that tract of land I'll be able to secure Han Sui's lands as well. I told him the sale was contingent upon Ma Teng's sale."

"That sure is going to hurt the grain market, isn't it?" Jia furrowed his eyebrows. "This is a low price, don't you think?"

"It clears out the debt on the farm. I've been after him for two years to sell, the price drops every time I have to put together a contract." Cao shook his head. "Stubborn old bastard didn't want to give up the house of all things."

"Mmmm. Well this looks fine to me. Did you have a contract for Han Sui as well?"

"No, I'll wait until we close on this property first. Thanks again for stopping by."

"Ah, it's on my way home. Besides I didn't get a chance to congratulate Pi on his engagement. You must be proud of him, she is a beautiful woman."

"Yes, I was actually kind of surprised when it happened." Cao thought about how many times Ji had made inappropriate advances at the station. He had, of course, given into her desires. He was no fool. She was very aware Cao was not happy about the idea of starting any rumors, so they kept it extremely quiet. Now she was going to be moving into the same house, and he knew it wasn't because she cared for his son.

* * *

_[Sun__Mansion __7:47 pm_

"Yes sir, I'll see to….oh what the fuck are you doing here?" Zhou Yu came out of Sun Jian's office and stared at his brother.

"Would you believe I stopped into say hi to my three nephews?" Tai smirked

"No." Yu crossed his arms and stood angrily in his silk smoking jacket.

"Who the hell are you talking to?" Jian came out of his office and looked at Tai. "Oh, Tai. I haven't thanked you yet for pulling my son to safety before he humiliated me some more."

"Thanks pop!" Ce waved at him from the settee in the hall.

Shang leaned over the settee to look at her brother's nose. "So did you have that before you went in to see dad?"

"Yeah. But, he threw the Imperial Seal at me."

"Oooohhh. New family record." Shang giggled but stopped when her father shot her an agitated glance. The Sun kids were all aware of their father's temper and his tendency to throw things.

"Sir, I was just doing my job. I need to talk to you about all of this, Yu." Tai looked back to his brother who was still glaring at him.

"If this is about any charges…" Jian started to say

"No sir, nothing like that. Although one of the cameras downtown took a nice little picture of someone in his Viper running a red light." Tai looked over to the couch and saw Ce sigh. "I actually wanted to see what you guys had on Cao Cao and his interest in Cheng Du. I know my brother likes to keep a small personal file on the activities of Wei International. "

Jian and Yu looked at each other. Yu shrugged. "Don't you get paid to do your own investigating, Detective?"

"Don't you look pretty in your silky dress, Yu?" Tai shot back.

"It's a smoking jacket you uncouth…." Yu stopped as Murdock came bouncing around the corner and leapt on him, snagging the fine silk garment. "SHANG!"

Shang giggled and called her dog over to her. "Sit down." Murdoch sat on her foot and panted.

Tai laughed. "Wow am I glad I stopped by." He cleared his throat. "Although I am enjoying this visit I do need to get going."

"Why are you missing an episode of the 'World's Scariest Police Chases'?" Yu sneered.

"Look, I didn't really want to come here but you have something I need. Those men today were executed at close range with a .50 caliber handgun. Who do you know that is tacky enough to use a Desert Eagle to carry out his dirty deeds?"

"You'd know better than I, he's your old friend." Yu returned.

"Yeah, just paid him a visit too. Enjoyed it more than my time with you, that's for sure. Look, I don't care what you guys do in your little rivalry with Wei however; you're doing it on my turf. And I hate cleaning up after you boys. Besides, if you help me it would go along way to raising public opinion about the _Times._"

"Yeah, yeah. My fault I know." Ce moaned.

"You'd make sure we get the scoop and that you will applaud our assistance in all of your press conferences?" Zhou Yu narrowed his eyes at his brother.

"Sure, if that's what it takes. I just want to do my job Yu; I don't give a damn about this little _West Side Story_ shit you got going on."

"Alright, I'll let you look at my file." Yu stormed off to his office.

"Nice seeing you all again." Tai waved at the Sun kids and nodded to Sun Jian.

* * *

_[Xi Liang Farms __8:30 pm_

"King!" Chao called his bay thoroughbred gelding in from the pasture with a whistle. The horse galloped in and came to a sliding halt at the gate and neighed at him. "Hey man, how are you doing?" He scratched his cheekbones and put his forehead on his.

"CUCUCAROO!"

Chao's eyes narrowed, that damned black rooster was still alive. Attila, the black sex link rooster from hell. It was the only bird he had ever known that would crow fifty times in one minute then proceed to do it again five minutes later. He hated that bird.

"CUCUCUCROOOOOOO!"

"That's it! You die today!" Chao grabbed the long handled pruning saw that was next to the barn and jumped the gate. He let his anger at the day's events take a hold of him, in order to put dinner on the table. He when into stealth mode, he had no idea where the damned black bird was. It was too dark to see him, he'd have to let his eyes adjust to the darkness and wait for the bastard to do it again. Thankfully, chickens can't see very well in the dark. He readied himself, grabbing the saw shaft so it would wield as a weapon better.

"CUCO…….ROOO!"

"HA!" Chao swung at the bird in the dark and heard it squawk. He saw some feathers fly, but the saw didn't nick the bird. King ran inside and nickered, he wanted to know what the commotion was.

"AHHROOO!" Attila took off across the barn.

"King! Get him! Get the rooster!" Chao ran after the bird and watched his horse rear and put his left hoof down on the bird. As soon as he pinned the rooster the fluffy bastard began to make a racket and flail. King was a wuss and easily was scared by it. Almost as soon as he put his hoof down, he released the bird and ran behind Chao's back to hide.

"Thanks." Chao moved in on his prey and took a swing; it cleaved the bird's head off.

"Chao, what the hell is going on?" Zhao Yun ran out to the barn and looked at his friend picking up the twitching decapitated rooster by its legs. Blood squirted everywhere.

"Dinner." Chao smiled and pet his faithful horse.

"You killed him with a pruning saw? I know it's for taking off limbs, but _tree_ limbs is really what they mean."

"Better to have a sporting chance then hang upside down in the killing cone." Chao let himself out the side door and put the saw back.

"You're actually serious about eating that aren't you?" Yun looked as he swung the lifeless body around.

"Yup, pluck em, gut him, shove a beer can up his ass and put him on the grill." Chao smirked. "What's wrong? You look pale, city boy."

Yun smiled wearily. It was kind of nice to see Chao in a better mood. But could he really eat something that was still wiggling when he last saw it?

* * *

_[Luo Yong Water Treatment plant __10:01 pm_

Lu Bu leaned back on the hood of his Porsche and looked at his Rolex again. Cao Cao was late, that uppity bastard was doing it on purpose. He wanted to make sure he still had the upper hand despite having to fork over $150 K to him tonight. Diao Chan had been very specific when she took the job; she wanted Cao Cao to get his hands dirty on this one. He had been very short on the notice and this was the punishment Chan thought fitting. The Wei CEO always sent Dian Wei out to drop off the cash; he never wanted to have the slightest chance of being associated with a crime he had ordered. Now he was going to have to come out, to the shitty side of Luo Yong, and meet with the executioner. After the meeting, Lu Bu was going to go get Zhang Liao's birthday present. Lu Bu smiled, Laio would be so happy.

Cao pressed the petal down a bit further and felt the 5.9 L V12 engine under the hood of his regal blue Aston-Martin Vanquish Coupe roar as he flew down the empty road. That bastard was waiting for him and he wanted to get this over with. Lu Bu was always so smug and talkative when he knew someone was uncomfortable, and they always were around him. He turned the corner and saw the giant leaning against his outrageously expensive sports car. Cao knew for a fact it cost twice as much as the one he was currently driving.

Lu Bu smirked and stood up as Cao Cao got out of his car. "Cute car. How many horses you got under there?"

Cao snorted and took out the envelope handing it to the man. "460."

"Only? I've got 605. Hmpf." Lu Bu opened the passenger side door and began to feed the money into a cigarette lighter powered currency counter.

"Is that necessary?" Cao Cao cross his arms and looked at the hit man with his customary scowl.

"Yup. Bosses orders. Don't trust the petty thief" He smiled and rested his arms on the door waiting for his reaction.

"Petty thief?"

"Come on, stealing farmland from a boy? That's almost below you. Almost."

"I pay you $50 K a body to keep your goddamned mouth shut."

"Hmpf." Lu Bu turned to the counter and fed another chunk of dollars into it. "You're almost worse then Dian Wei, and he's by far the most personable person I've ever met. That counts people I was shooting at in the Marines too."

"Have you ever thought about working for me? I could use someone like you, especially now that a war is about to begin." Cao rubbed his goatee.

"Yeah right. You like everyone to kiss your ass."

"But you wouldn't be confined to Luo Yong. Certainly someone of your caliber should be working on a more international scale."

"I've made enough international enemies. I kind of like it here anyhow. Besides I want to see how the Wu-Wei war ends." Lu Bu put the last chunk of bills into the counter.

"Suit yourself."

"Oh, my buddy Setsuna stopped by today. Your hit was obvious enough to make him go running off to his brother for info. Just because they can't trace it to you doesn't mean they can't point a finger."

"So what? As I recall your boss still had complete control over that department. If your 'buddy' starts sniffing too much I might have to have him rebuked. Or revoked."

Lu Bu snickered; 'revoked' that was a good one. "Alright looks like you counted right. Nice doing business with ya, do you want a receipt?"

Cao Cao growled and turned to his car.

"Hold on! One more thing." Lu Bu walked over to him and pinned a 'Dong Zhuo for Mayor' pin on his lapel. "Thanks for your support, pal."

Cao Cao snorted angrily, the suit he was wearing was worth near $6K and his prick just stuck a 6 cent pin through it. He turned and hoped into his car, spinning the wheels and taking off.

Lu Bu whistled and jumped into the car himself. He pushed his stereo on and immediately the _Swing Kids _Soundtrack CD began to play. Ah the beauty of _Sing, Sing, Sing_ in the confines of a lavish automobile. Time to head off to the docks of the Chang Jiang to pick up Liao's present.


	3. The Little Conquerer

_GTA: Luo Yong_

Chapter 3

**The Little Conqueror**

* * *

_Sun__ Mansion__ 10:06 pm Sun Jian's office_

Sun Ce flipped through pages upon pages of material from one of Zhou Yu's files. He had an idea, and it was going to expand Wu territory considerably. He always did this. Every time he did something asinine, his pop would yell, throw and threaten to adopt Zhou Yu. He really took no offense at it. He knew the old man loved Zhou Yu like a son anyway and he didn't love his eldest boy any less even when he ruined something really important. That was just pop for ya. But every time he made the senior Sun mad, he also was struck with a stroke of brilliance that would befuddle everyone including the brilliant Zhou Yu. This was one of those days. He looked over at his sister lying on the couch, Murdoch beside her snoring. "Hey sis, you know when Quan's showing up?"

"Do I look like Miss Cleo to you?"

"Just asking." Ce turned around and looked at the map again. It would work out perfectly! Now if Quan could get his ass here sometime soon maybe he could make Pop feel a bit better.

_[Chi Bi Pier __10:13 pm_

Lu Bu jumped out of the car and smiled happily as he saw the little smarmy man named Xing Daorong leaning against a trash can.

"You're late. I said 10:00." Daorong brushed his greasy Carhartt back to show a Makarov pistol in his belt.

"Do you seriously want to piss me off?" Lu Bu tossed his own jacket on the front seat and saw Daorong's eyes dart to the Desert Eagle in his shoulder holster.

"Let's get on with this." Daorong turned and waved to two disheveled henchmen who carried a wooden military style box over to them. The smaller man opened it with a crowbar and revealed the item inside.

"Vintage M-79 40 mm grenade launcher. Single shot, break action. Max range of 400 meters." Daorong rattled off the specs, he was used to it. He was a renowned smuggler.

"Cool." Lu Bu picked it up and looked it over. Liao would be so damned thrilled.

"And here.." the smuggler snapped his fingers and a strong seaman came around holding another ammunition box. "Are the rounds. A sampler box if you will. Two of each type, smoke grenades, CS Gas, flares, buckshot, and the every popular Flechette. Now that you have inspected the merchandise, how bout handing over the cash?"

"Here." Lu Bu handed the man 5k of what Cao Cao had just given him. He looked over at his car. Where the hell was he going to put this stuff in his racecar-esque Carerra GT? He opened the luggage compartment in the front of the vehicle and groaned. He never took out all the shit that came with the car. The model came with a tailored travel bag, garment bag, briefcase, shoulder bag and a center console bag all in the same charcoal grey leather that the interior of his car was covered in. He slung the rocket launcher over his shoulder; it was a nice piece resembling a large bore sawed off shotgun. Then his phone rang, it was Chan. "Hi honey!"

"_What the fuck is taking you so long? Did you count the cash by hand_?"

"No…I just am trying to figure out where to put this stuff. There really isn't a lot of room in this car." He opened his passenger side door and ducked under it, throwing the miscellaneous bags on the seat.

"_Well that's what you get for buying a personal racecar_."

"Sorry sweetie, I'll be there soon." He picked his head up and saw one of Daorong's men giggle. With the cell phone on his shoulder and the rocket launcher on the other, he pulled out his Desert Eagle and shot the men in the head. He fell over into the water with a splash.

"_Quit shooting people you're not getting paid to kill_!" Chan reprimanded.

"Sorry, Tinkerbelle." He put his smoking gun back and looked down at the box the weapon came in. "I think I'll have to leave the box."

"_Great. You know how much Liao likes to open those damned things. I even bought him a new Gorilla barand had it bronzed_." Chan growled.

"I'll try." He put the rocket launcher in the compartment in the front. "I'll see you in a bit, hun."

"_Liao will be here in forty-five minutes. No, make that thirty-five he's always ten minutes early. So get your ass here ASAP_!" Chan hung up; obviously pissed she couldn't slam her cell into a receiver.

Lu Bu flipped his phone down and put it back on his belt. "Alright bring that ammo over." He took the box from the big man and shoved it to the back of the small compartment. "Hey you got rope?" he looked at Daorong.

"Yeah, this _is_ a shipyard." He threw a thumb over his shoulder, signaling the remaining henchmen to find some for the client.

"OK." He took his jacket and put it on the back of the car behind the window. Then he hefted the large crate on to it. It looked ridiculous, but as long as it didn't scratch his baby or make Chan withhold sex from him, it was a great idea.

* * *

_Sun__Mansion__10:15 pm__ Driveway_

Sun Quan drove his Dodge Intrepid slowly up the drive to the family home. He was in no rush; his favorite track of John Tesh's _Garden City_ CD was on. Oh that sweet acoustic melody just touched his soul! The man was a poet, musically and verbally. How could anyone forget his commentary during the Olympic gymnastic competition, "Tonight, Little girls are dancing."? Quan smiled, it was so difficult nowadays to find an artist so in touch with the better things in the world. He pulled up as Zhou Tai was stepping out of the house. He turned off the car and got out, "What are you doing here? I haven't seen you in years? Hopefully you and your brother are getting along better?"

Tai laughed. "No hell hasn't frozen over yet. I'd give up on it Quan, Yu and I are never going to be as close as you Sun kids. Besides he's already replaced me with a 'sworn' brother he actually likes."

"Pity. I hate to see siblings at odds with one another."

"Just the way it is sometimes. Guess when you grow up trying to suffocate each other, this is how you turn out." Tai smirked and jumped into his Ram. "Enjoy the crisis!"

"Thanks." Quan muttered remembering the reason he was here. Ce opening his mouth and letting the first thing that came to mind come out.

* * *

_[Liu Bei's Home __10:30 pm__ Peach Orchard_

Liu Bei sat on a small bench in his orchard. He looked over at the two graves that were directly in front of him. His two wives, Gan and Mi, were resting in peace below the beautiful trees. He couldn't help but think about them when he heard the news about Chao's family, he also knew the pain of losing the people you loved. Bei didn't come out here as often as he used to, or nearly as often as he should. There was a time when he thought he'd never get over them, but he knew he had to for Chan. His son was now sound asleep in his bed hugging his _Justice League_ 12" action figure, Martian Manhunter, oblivious to the evils in the world. Chan was growing up fast and he was becoming more adjusted to not having a mother. Bei stood up and touched the tombstones, he knew he was going to go out to the Ma homestead tomorrow and he needed the strength to help Chao pull through this. He needed to assure him it would all be ok, despite the loneliness and pain. It was how they would want it to be.

* * *

_Sun__Mansion__ 10:45 pm Sun Jian's office._

"Well." Sun Jian sighed as he walked into his office and saw Quan.. "It's nice of you to finally show up."

"I've been here for a half an hour dad." Quan was sitting in the same chair Ce had been earlier. "Nice of _you_ to finally show up."

"Watch it Quan!" Shang cautioned. "Ce got the Imperial Seal chucked at him today."

"Really?" Quan looked at his older brother with an appreciative look. "Incredible, you really must be a certified fuck-up now."

"Imperial Seal of Approval!" Shang smiled as her father smacked her with a pillow. Murdoch continued to snore his unique cartoonish snore.

"Ah, you're just jealous I hold a new record." Ce stuck out his tongue.

"Ce, you've always had the record." Quan shook his head. "I never even made it to the top ten. All you and Shang. I'm the good child, remember?"

"You listen to John Tesh, that automatically disqualifies you from competing for the title of best child." Shang tossed the pillow at him.

"You just don't appreciate good music. Must have got that from Dad." Quan saw the old man shoot him a smile. The kids never stopped teasing him about his Elvis addiction.

"Don't worry about Dad until he tells us he's flying to Vegas." Ce snickered. The thought of Sun Jian as a flying Elvis never ceased to amuse him.

Zhou Yu entered the room, calm and collected as always yet missing his smoking jacket. "Are we ready to begin?"

"Oh and here comes number one son now." Shang grinned.

Yu ignored her and poured himself a drink. "Well?" He looked to Ce, he knew that look. His best friend had a plan.

"Alright I already talked this over with Quan, since you two thought yourselves too good to join us earlier." He smiled as Sun Jian leaned against the desk looking over the map. "OK, I checked out Luo Yong auditor's office online and looked over the parcels that Yuan Shao didn't lose to Meng Huo gambling. That would be these two here." He pulled out a print off of the aerial shots from the website.

"They're on the opposite side of Meng' Huo's lands, next to Wei property. What good is that going to do us?" Yu asked.

"Let me finish." Ce shook his finger at him and watched Shang get up to look everything over as well. "Alright, so Shao still owns this stuff, but we can't get to it because it's on the other side of the Chang Jiang, right?"

"Yeah." Yu cocked his head, Ce was onto something. The tract had belonged to Yuan Shao's wife, but she died after the famed poker match with Meng Huo. So the property only became his, afterwards. "What kind of land is it?"

"Forest. Heavy, dense forest." Ce smiled. "Quan mentioned some kind of halt in the negotiations on the Nanman contract renewal last weak at dinner. So it go me thinking, where else are there trees? So I started to look over the parcel search while I wasn't doing anything at work."

Jian and Yu exchanged frustrated glances.

"And poof, I stumbled on this. And we all know he's got some unpaid gambling debts and he could use some cash from a sale this big. Now the question is how do we get to it, right? Easy! We run Sun Freight Lines right through Meng Huo's back yard and build a bridge over the Chang Jiang. There's enough lumber on that ridge to keep the Mills running for ten years."

"Son, Meng Huo is an idiot, but Zhu Rong isn't. There's no way you'll get her to sell you the land to run a railroad track through their property so that you can eliminate their income." Jian looked over the map again.

"Well then we go buy the old Central Railroad abandoned lines that are about to be signed off to the city for a tax write off under the 'Rails to Trails' program." Ce held the application in his hands and gave it to his father. "Something that I found in the public records section of city hall's webpage."

Yu walked around to look over Jian's shoulder. "Holy shit. You're brilliant."

Ce beamed, "I know."

Quan looked over the map and put the sheet of transparency film they had been writing on back over the map. "So we have the said parcel outlined in red. The existing railroad bed is marked in blue and our proposed track extension is in black. Now the only question I have left is where the hell are we getting the wood for the ties? We're running really low on what we pulled out of Namman before the negotiations. I've been having to skimp on some of the Shu Contruction orders because of it."

"Well, I am glad you asked." Ce winked at his pop. "There is also another piece of farmland currently up for sale in Cheng Du. Used to be a cattle farm, but the guy's retiring. Doesn't seem to be having much luck moving a 1500 acre parcel of semi-wooded pastureland." He put his ace in the hole on the table: the listing off the MLS for Han Sui's farm.

"Have you…." Jian picked up the sheet.

"Looked at it? Nope, but the realtor put his home phone number on there and I called him fifteen minutes ago. Woke him up, but when I told him what I was looking at, he became very coherent and happy. Oh and the other thing the agent told me, Cao Cao's the only interested buyer. He's put his bid on hold until he closes on the property next door, Xi Liang farms. You know, the farm that guy who broke my nose currently owns." Ce sat down in his father's comfy chair and swiveled happily. Sun Ce to the rescue! _Swivel, Swivel, Swivel._

"Brilliant!!!" Zhou Yu shook his head, "You astound me. I only wish you didn't have to piss off your dad to come up with this shit." Yu smiled. Cao Cao was going to be one really miserable neighbor. "The Wu empire is growing."

"Excellent!" Jian squeezed his son's shoulder. "As long as you keep this up, I don't care if you put me in my grave."

"Daddy." Shang furrowed her eyebrows. "Don't talk like that, it's bad luck."

"Mmmm. Sorry Sunny." Jian kissed his daughter on the forehead. "Oh I almost forgot about the actually reason for this meeting."

Quan yawned. "You mean the age old lecture on why we should behave and not humiliate the family, it subsidies or the people we champion?"

"Yeah." Jian snorted. "Fine, since you have all heard it enough I'll let you all go. But, dammit, behave! And Yu, put together a bid on that property. We'll fax it over tomorrow morning."

"Yes sir!" Yu patted his friend on the back. "Good job Ce."

"Well I'm good for something you know." Ce smirked

"Oh, let me be the one to delivers the news to that raunchy bitch, Zhu Rong." Quan begged.

"Go ahead, you are after all the good son." Jian smiled and winked at Ce who grunted.

"Well I'll let you talk to Yuan Shao then, Pop. I'll just…take it easy." Ce smirked as Yu rolled his eyes. _Swivel. Swivel._

* * *

_[Lu Bu's apartment, Luo Yong __10:50 pm_

"Happy Birthday dear Liao! Happy Birthday to you!" Chan smiled, she loved to sing.

Zhang Liao blew out his candles and grinned. "You guys are the best."

"Hey, you haven't even seen your present yet." Lu Bu handed his friend a knife for the Carvel Ice Cream cake

"Oh?" Liao's eyes twinkled like a child. He knew that his partners always splurged for him.

"Here." Chan handed him the Gorilla bar wrapped in sparkly wrapping paper and bows. She gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Happy 30th."

Liao ripped into the present and smiled. "Oh this is great." He swung the bar over his head anticipating using it to crack a man's skull open.

"Now open the rest of it." Lu Bu punched him and pointed to the kitchen. "In case you need help finding it, it's the oblong wooden crate next to the stove."

"Awww." Liao jumped up and ran into the kitchen. He let his eyes fall on the beautiful familiar shape of a military issue weapon transport box. He held the Gorilla bar tightly and worked the lid off as his friends watched from the doorway.

"If you don't like it you'll have to go exchange it yourself. I have no need to jump on a floating bathtub to Nicaragua anytime soon." Lu Bu hugged Chan as the lid popped off

"Oh…a M-79." Liao lifted it out of the protective straw and ran his hands over the warn stock and down the barrel. He shouldered the weapon and rubbed his check against the stock. "Oh it's gorgeous."

"I got you a sample box of ammo too. It's in the pantry." Lu Bu grinned.

"A mix of explosive and inciniery rounds, for your pleasure." Chan smiles warmly.

"Flechette?" Liao opened the pantry door and looked at the box.

"Of course. Genuine too. 45 darts in a plastic casing and 00 buckshot loads as well. Tossed in some CS gas, smokers and flares." Bu pulled away and looked back at the cake. "Come on bud, time for cake. It's melting and that's just a sin."

"So we got another job yet? Can I try it out?" Liao slung the weapon onto his shoulder and picked up Chan in a bear hug. "You beautiful generous woman!"

"Only the best for my boys." Chan squeaked as Liao squeezed the breath out of her petite frame in shear happiness.

* * *

_Luo__ Yong__ International__ Airport__11:30 pm_

Cao Ren sighed as he grabbed his briefcase and exited the bright blue Bombadier BD-700 Global Express Jet that belonged to Wei International. One of the many aeronautical items in Wei's assets, the Jet was the most luxurious. Cao Cao fell in love with it instantly and bought it on the spot. The Jet was one of the finest corporate global aircraft in the world. It could fly between any two points on the global and needed only one refueling stop. The two Rolls Royce BR-710A-200 turbo fan engines allowed the craft to travel at mach 0.88 or 850 km/h. It was a smaller jet, 99ft and some change from tip to tail, and it could hold 8 passengers. Ren had loved this particular model because of its galley, conference room, leather seats, dining area and a quaint bed, toilet, wardrobe and shower combination at the aft of the craft. It made travel comfortable and relaxing, but what Ren hated was the arrival. For some reason it was always a disappointment when he put his feet down on the tarmac, and he had to fight the urge to reboard the airliner. Good old Luo Yong. He saw his Jaguar XKR Convertible sitting by the hanger waiting for him and he pulled out the keys. With a crack of his neck he got in the car, put down the roof and turned on the radio. What the hell was so important to drag him back on such short notice?


	4. The Fuse Is Lit

_GTA: Luo Yang_

Chapter 4

**The Fuse Is Lit**

* * *

_(Xi Liang Farms) __7:30 am_

Ma Chao was on his back underneath his '95 Chevy K1500 staring at the oil filter. Somehow, oil was leaking out from around the housing and he wasn't really sure what to do about it. He pulled the Haynes manual over and looked at simple words, "Remove Oil Filter Adapter". Yeah, sure. He threw the manual back down and rolled out from underneath the truck. He had the CD player rigged so that it ran off his trucks battery. Needing some good music to start off his miserable day he put in his _John Mellencamp's Greatest hits_ CD, pressed the track forward button until the display read "4" and smiled. Chao got up and grabbed the flashlight; he needed to find some 5W-30 oil to put in the truck so he could get it to SCI. Wei Yan would know what to do about an oil filter adapter.

Cao Cao drove up to the farm and parked next to a green Chevy truck with the hood up. He got out of the car and looked over as Dian Wei did the same. Cao didn't see anyone and decided to take a closer look at the old farmhouse. A horse galloped in from the back pasture and neighed an alarm. The thoroughbred stood at the fence, head up, staring at them. Cao ignored the guard horse and walked up the creaky wooden porch steps and knocked on the old door. With a second thought he ran his hand over the brick wall. "Wei, don't you think this would make a nice brick patio?

"Actually I like to use bricks for smashing things. Windows, cars, skulls."

"Where the hell is this bastard?" Cao looked around the corner of the porch and saw the Ma heir wiping his hands off on a rag, staring at the Aston Martin. "You must be Ma Chao." Cao stepped off the rickety old porch and back onto safe ground.

"Ask him why there's diamond grit in his Tractor engine." Dian Wei snickered.

"Shhh." Cao couldn't help but smile, Dian Wei was still such a child. A big, powerful destructive child.

"Look, if you're bill collectors you're going to have to wait. I'm still going over my father's things and I need some time before I can get it sorted out." Chao looked at the two men and suddenly felt like he should have his dad's old Webley revolver with him. He turned off the stereo.

"Allow me to introduce myself; I am Cao Cao, CEO Wei International. This is my associate, Dian Wei."

Chao looked at his hand, still slick with oil residue. He shrugged, what did he care if he got Cao Cao's hand a little dirty. "Nice to meet you sir." He held out his hand.

Cao shook the man's and smiled. "I was hoping to discuss a proposition with you." _Dammit, I'm going to have to dig that hand sanitizer out of the glove compartment. Stupid farm boy, probably going to wipe his hands on his pants next._

"Oh?" Chao looked to Dian Wei who had all the characteristics of a very angry guard dog.

"I am so very sorry to hear about your family. I know this is a horrible time for you, but I was in the process of discussing the sale of the farm with your father last week."

"And obviously it didn't go well, or he wouldn't have been at the bank applying for a second mortgage." Chao threw the rag down and crossed his arms. He got a weird feeling about this man now that he was so close to him. It was very convenient that Wei would prosper from his family's demise. Unconsciously his face contorted into a scowl.

"No he definitely wasn't pleased with the last contract. That's why I decided to see to this myself." Cao handed Chao the folder containing the contract he had drawn up. "I know you are in considerable financial trouble right now. I strongly suggest you give that your immediate attention." He glared back at Chao, just to let him know the feeling was mutual.

Dian Wei looked over at King. "Horse for sale?"

"No." Chao snapped as Wei looked at his steed hungrily.

"Pity." Wei pulled out a toothpick and began to pick his teeth. "Could use some lunch."

"Are we done here?" Chao threw the folder on the radiator and watched Zhao Yun pull in the driveway in his GMC Envoy followed by Jiang Wei's Chevy Tracker. He glanced at the socket wrench on the ground and imagined it in Dian Wei's throat.

"My contact number is inside. Call me when you've had a chance to realize you have no other option." Cao turned to his sports car and got in.

"Yeah, and let me know if you're turning Trigger over there into sausage." Wei winked and spit out his toothpick. He opened the door to his boss's car to be greeted by the monotonous voice of Neil Diamond and his "Cracklin' Rosie".

"What was that about?" Yun walked over to Chao who was leaning against the truck wringing the towel in his hands.

"We have to find another way. I can't sell out to him." Chao ground his teeth.

"Wow. This must be one important acquisition if Cao Cao's delivering the contract by hand." Jiang Wei watched the Aston Martin spin its wheels on the gravel road and tear off.

"Important enough to wipe out my entire family?" Chao threw the rag down and kicked the driveway, sending gravel spraying everywhere.

"Chao, we don't know that." Yun reached out to calm his friend down. Chao had a tendency to let his anger get the better of him.

"Come on, we brought breakfast." Jiang Wei smiled a youthful smile. Despite being the same age as Chao he looked at least three years younger.

King nickered at the new people and then trotted down the fence line. He watched Chao pick a few apples off the tree and toss them into the pasture. The happy horse raced over to the special snacks, beating his clueless goat companion to them.

* * *

_(SCI) Main office 8 am_

The phone rang in the main office and Liu Bei tried to hurry over to answer it, without spilling his coffee. "Shu Construction, Liu Bei speaking. How can I help you?"

"_What? You're answering phones now?"_ The voice came over the line.

"Well," Bei smiled and took a sip of his coffee, "Considering it's 8 am and you're calling me Jian, I have to wonder what you threw at your son last night."

"_Still, I don't see why you've demoted yourself_."

"I didn't, I'm being the good understanding boss." He looked up as Ying rolled her eyes at him and gave him the finger. He chuckled. "Yun's actually out helping a friend. I believe your boy met him already. Ma Chao?"

"_Aw shit. He's one of yours_?"

"Yeah." Bei leaned against the desk. "Actually, I'm going to be heading out there in a bit…..um hang on I've got another call coming in…"

"Got it!" Ying hollered from her office.

"Saved by the ex." Bei smirked as she threw a donut at him. "Anyhow, what can I do for you? Want me to send Huang Zhong out?"

"_Yeah_." Sun Jian sighed.

"I'm sure he'll be delighted. For some reason he gets the job done quickly everywhere but your house."

"_Blame my daughter-in-laws for that. They make sure he's stuffed full of treats when he leaves. He gets to play the hero because I threw things at their spouses."_

"How is business otherwise?"

"_Actually, I'm glad you mentioned it. We're going to be building a railroad bridge over the __Chang Jiang__ to get to a parcel of woods on the other side. Would you be interested?"_

"Well, I'll have to ask Pang Tong. He's my only guy with engineering experience."

"_I thought you had an architect and I thought that Tong was an electrician."_

"Well if we ask Chao, you're going to end up with something resembling Ponte Vecchio. Tong actually has a degree in engineering that he's not using. The guy just loves electric that much."

"_We'll have to set up a meeting then. Next week_?"

"Yeah. That would work out well. Tong will be back from his vacation. So does that mean my supply of lumber is going to be more consistent and cheaper?" Bei grinned when he heard the silence on the other end.

"_We'll talk."_ Jian paused. "_Ok, I have to get going, I'm meeting with the mayor_."

Bei heard him slam the car door. "Then I will let you go."

"_Good to talk to you. Give my condolences to Ma Chao. For his loss and my heir's idiocy_."

* * *

_(Cheng Du Realty office) __8 am_

Zhou Yu sat waiting in his Chrysler Crossfire outside of the Cheng Du Realty office waiting for it to open. He turned up the stereo and put his _Flogging Molly_ Cd in. As the sweet Irish rock music surrounded him he looked over the information again. He had already been out to see the place at seven, Han Sui was happy to give him a tour. Nothing like a walk around a cattle farm to start your morning. He already sweet talked the man into pushing the closing date up. They would be done with this transaction in three days. The title check would have to be completed and the paperwork done at city hall. Zhuge Jin, the Sun family attorney, already had the sales contract in his fax tray in his office. The process would go quickly thanks to the talented people and the ability to electronically transfer the cash into Han Sui's bank account instantly. The old farmer was delighted, and he was even happier with the fact that Zhou Yu had agreed to let occupy the property for thirty days-until he sold his herd and got his things together. In the mean time, Sun Quan's boys would be removing lumber from the west pasture and transporting it to the mill. It was brilliant.

Jia Xu fumbled with the keys to the office and accidentally dropped them. He looked up to see Zhou Yu standing in front of him looking at his watch. "Hi."

"Do you know how inconsiderate it is to post hours of operation and not adhere to them?" Yu cross his arms annoyed.

* * *

_(SCI) HR Office 8:__05 am_

"Good morning, Shu Construction, Yue Ying speaking. How can I help you?"

"_Hey! Ying. It's Yun_."

"Because of your little day off Bei's stuck on the phone with Sun Jian."

"_It will make him appreciate me more. Anyhow, we were wondering if that smart hubby of yours was busy today_."

"That's a stupid question Yun." Ying shook her head, Liang was always busy. From 6 am to 10 pm, the man worked.

"_Well would he have some time to spare, for Chao?_"

"Yeah…..can I warn him about the topic?"

"_Sale__ contract…personally delivered by Cao Cao._"

"Oh." Ying looked down at her desk at the picture of her and Liang in London. "Yeah, I'll call him for you."

"_You're the best….well…whatever you are._" Yun laughed.

Yue Ying smirked; Zhao Yun always teased her about not doing anything locked up in her office all day. He knew she worked her ass off but he always enjoyed rolling his chair over to her door and bugging her. It made the days go faster and it gave the two indoor employees some inside jokes. "At least I'm not the secretary."

"_Yeah, that's Liu Bei now. Hehe. Bye Ying_!" She put the phone down and immediately picked it up again and hit speed dial button #1.

* * *

(_Luo Yang) City Hall. __8:10 am_

"Sun Jian!" Yuan Shao looked up at his loyal supporter and smiled. "Finally someone I don't have to tell what to do."

"I brought you coffee."

"You must want something then." Shao sat down at his desk.

"Now that you mention it." Jian smirked and handed him the folder containing the information on the tract of land.

* * *

_(Xi Liang Farms) __9 am_

"I'm fucked aren't I?" Chao looked at Jiang Wei's expression and could tell instantly that the numbers weren't working out. He looked out the window and saw Liu Bei's Suburban pull in. He couldn't help but think about what a cool guy he worked for.

"This is everything?" Jiang Wei rubbed his eyes and looked over the table again. It was covered with papers and ledgers. There were piles on the countertops with post-its noting what they were.

Liu Bei opened the screen door and walked in with a warm smile. "How's it going?"

"Not so good." Chao offered his boss a smile. "Thanks for coming."

"No problem. Yue Ying made some food for you." He lifted up the grocery bag to show Chao and opened the refrigerator. He stared into the empty nonfunctional appliance and looked back at Chao. "Is there another one somewhere?"

"Nope. No electric what so ever." Chao got up and took the bag from him. "Thankfully this house is old enough to have a root cellar. It's cool enough down there to keep everything edible for a few days." He turned and went into the basement.

"Xuande, he's in bad shape." Yun watched his friend and employer look through the piles on the counters.

Bei stopped at the 'Don't Pay' pile and leafed through it. He frowned when he saw the Luo Yang University envelope and opened it. It was Chao's tuition bill. "Zilong, take care of this." He handed the bill to him.

Yun smiled. "Sure."

Wei looked up and peered at Yun over the tops of his glasses. "What one is that?"

Yun flashed the envelope at him then folded it up and shoved it in his pocket. "Now if we can take care of that funeral bill."

"No." Chao emerged from the basement. "I can't accept charity. I think I'll cremate them and scatter their ashes on the pond….with mom." He sighed. If he sold the farm he was going to be abandoning his mother's remains. Granted it was a ridiculous notion, the ashes flew everywhere but the water when they had that ceremony ten years ago, but it was the thought. If they turned this place into a subdivision, that pond was going to be a drainage ditch. Who wanted their mother's remains floating in sewage?

"Bury them out in the peach orchard." Bei offered. "Mi and Gan are probably sick of each other by now, they'd appreciate some male attention."

"Well…"

"That's a great idea." Yun punched Chao's arm. "Let your brothers hit on Bei's wives for a while. It will definitely liven up the afterlife."

"Give your dad something to yell about too." Wei took his glasses off. "You brought coffee. Where are you hiding it?"

Liu Bei took Wei's neck in his hands and mockingly choked him, "You are addicted."

"I smell it on your hands, boss."

"Out in the truck." Bei pulled Chao by his shirt, "Come on you ingrate, show me around."

* * *

_Nanman__Forest__ Products Main Office) __9:30 am_

Sun Quan parked the Intrepid next to Meng Huo's ridiculous looking Scion. He got out, tucking his briefcase under his arm, and slammed the door. Zhu Rong wandered over to the trailer they used as an office and walked in. Quan shook his head, _inbred hillbillies_. He opened the door to the 'office' and was annoyed when the handle came off in his hand. He threw the damned thing into the mud and slammed the door.

"I was wondering when you'd come crawling back." Zhu Rong smiled.

"Actually, I came to deliver some rather disheartening news. We have recently acquired some new lands, mainly the old CRR lines through the forest. We're going to be extending our current Sun Freight lines all the way to the river."

"So?" Meng Huo belched and took another beer out of the mini-fridge.

"We have more than enough timber to satisfy you needs at the edge of the forest, why go through the trouble of pushing that deep into the woods?" Zhu Rong narrowed her eyes; the bastard was up to something.

"Oh, I did fail to mention that we're purchasing the Yuan lands across the river didn't I? Man am I forgetful this morning."

"You're building a bridge over the river then." Rong hissed.

"Shit!" Quan smacked his head with his hand. "Forget to tell you that too! Well let me say before I get too distracted that you can take this ridiculous contract and shove it up your husband's worthless fat ass." Quan dropped the papers on the table and waved. "Bye now." He left the trailer and thought to himself that it was time to celebrate with some Kenny G music.

Zhu Rong stared at the door and grunted. "No one fucks me over and gets away with it."

* * *

_(Xi Liang Farms) __9:31 am_

"Bei?" Chao took the two thermoses that his boss handed him and watched him slam the door.

"Uh huh?"

"Can I keep my horse at your place? Till I find somewhere to board him?"

"Of course." Bei smiled as he glanced over to the pawing horse. "You can leave him with us forever. Chan has been wanting an equine friend."

"If you say no to the goat, well we'll have him for dinner."

"Not fond of him huh?"

"He's a shitty goat. Doesn't like people, doesn't eat weeds and he's always lame." Chao looked at the ground, "And um…there's something else."

"What?" Bei asked sincerely.

"I don't think I'm going to be able to work for you anymore. I can't pay for school and if I'm not going to finish my degree, I'm not much use for you. I'm sorry." Chao choked on the words.

"Ever here of tuition reimbursement programs?" Bei chuckled. "It means I get to scrutinize your grade report and take away your TV."

"I can't…"

"Chao, you're family. Just let me take care of it and we'll just garnish it off your paycheck when you're fulltime. You need to finish school, don't let this tragedy ruining everything. Make your Dad proud, huh?"

"Thanks." Chao followed him back towards the house. This was all a tad overwhelming "If there's anything I can do…."

"Ahh." Bei waved him off.

"Ah delicious office coffee." Wei grabbed the thermos and poured himself a cup. "You ready for my verdict?"

"No." Chao leaned against the counter and took a coffee mug from Bei.

"You're screwed." Wei shook his head. "Sorry."

"I knew as much." Chao sat down and looked at the table.

"Ying called back, said Liang's on his way over." Yun scratched his head.

"So I have to let him win?" Chao asked.

Yun watched Bei narrow his eyes. "Mengqi, we don't know that Cao Cao had anything to do with it. Hey, we should call that detective and ask how the case is coming along." Yun pulled out his wallet to look for the man's card. "If I didn't leave his card at home."

* * *

(_Downtown Luo Yang, WPC office) __12:04 pm_

"Yo, Bao. I got a business proposition for you." Zhu Rong strolled casually into the main office of the Way of Peace Coalition. She produced a wide smug grin for Zhang Bao.

"Sorry honey, we were done doing business together ages ago." Bao snorted. Zhu Rong used to be his favorite woman to pick up off the streets, in the days when he actually paid for the services. She was a great bang for the buck; there wasn't anything she'd refuse to do. He even pulled out those videos ever now and then just for shits and giggles.

"Oh I think you're going to really like this." Rong leaned over the desk and shook her boobs at him.

"You giving it away for free now?" Bao dropped a paperclip into her cleavage.

"You want to get your brother into city hall, or what?"

Bao leaned back in his chair and gave her an inquisitive look. Zhu Rong was not a woman to joke around where business was concerned. "What do you have in mind?"

"I think we need to give the war for Luo Yang a little shove."

"Oh?" Bao watched her smile.

"We've both been waiting for the Wu-Wei thing to go down for a while now. Too long. I'm willing to make a sizable contribution to the WPC if you'd be interested in directing those funds to the right committee within your organization."

"Mmmmm….Let's talk then"

Rong pulled a chair over and sat down on it backwards. "I was thinking this…" She dropped a thick envelope on the desk, "Might be enough to hire the Underground. I have a bit of a problem with the Sun family right now and I honestly think it's funny if Cao Cao gets the blame."

"So your target?"

Rong picked up his copy of the _Times_ off his desk and used her lighter to catch the edges on fire. "Hot off the press."

"Mmm…" Bao scratched his chin. "Well then I will match your contribution and add a little bit of lighter fluid. He watched her toss the paper in the trash and use his Evian water to put it out. "We do have to piss of Cao Cao if we really want this full scale."

"Leave that up to Diao Chan, make her earn her pay."

"So what do you want out of the rubble?" Bao asked, he needed to be very clear on her rewards.

"Take Luo Yang, I want everything around it."

"Deal."

* * *

(_Xi Liang Farms) __3:23 pm_

Zhuge Liang read through the contract and looked up at the expectant eyes around him. "It's genuine. Were you hoping to find something in this?"

"A catch." Yun offered. "You know the old sell your soul to Cao Cao clause."

"Oh that. Well that's in the fine print down here." Liang pointed at the third page and was amused when they all looked.

"Oh it's lawyer humor." Jiang Wei poured himself the last of the coffee. "For that you will give up your refill."

"Sorry Chao." Liang looked over at the younger man. "I can try and counter with something, if you'd like."

"No…I don't have any bargaining power. I'll be lucky if I can sell off the equipment to pay off the loans on them."

"Let me handle this, if you're going to accept then." Liang reached for his cell phone.

"Do I have any other choice?" Chao looked to everyone and saw their sad faces. "Alright call him."

* * *

_(Luo Yang Expressway) __3:31 pm_

"Hi Chan!" Lu Bu flipped off some guy as he tried to merge onto the highway.

"We have another job."

"Cool!" Lu Bu looked over to his pal. "Does Liao get to use his present?"

"Maybe. Look, swing by the office huh?"

"On my way baby!" Bu clicked the phone closed and smiled at Liao.

"Something need to fall down and go boom?" Liao asked as his friend fiddled with the radio.

"She was cryptic. Probably doesn't know yet." He grumbled as he took the turn for High Street and played with the radio. "Oh…yes." Lu Bu smiled and turned the radio up. There was nothing better than "Bohemian Rhapsody" booming out of the BOSE sound system in the Carrera. Two 100W speakers and 6 high performance speakers made the music work its way into their skin. He rolled down the windows so all of the poor bastards in Luo Yang could enjoy musical perfection.

* * *

_(Luo Yang, High Street)_ 3:34 pm 

Zhou Tai saw the light begin to turn yellow and slowed the LYPD detective special 1992 Crown Victoria to a stop early. The car had very little suspension and there was no way in hell he was going to make it across Front St without gunning it. The intersection was by far one of the most dangerous and most entertaining ones in all Luo Yang. High St crossed over the bumpy ruts of the semi-truck route Front Street and then dropped down a hill on the other side before crossing the draw bridge. In a good vehicle, it was a blast.

Gan Ning frowned. "Aw come on! We don't even own this car! Live a little Tai."

Tai rolled his eyes. "That's why I drive." He looked in the rearview mirror as he heard a booming bass from behind. Only momentarily did he see the familiar Gray Carrera GT before it blew by him in the right lane and into the intersection. All he heard was the roar of the expensive engine and two happy men screaming "MAGNIFICO!" at the tops of their lungs as the car flew over the intersection.

"Oh shit!" Ning flipped on the radio. "It's on, we have to find it!"

"Ning there are only a dozen radio stations in this town and….

"YEAH!" Ning hollered and began to sing along to "Bohemian Rapsody."

Tai sighed and rolled down the window so he could rest his elbow on the door. He put his tired head on his hand and tried to drown out his partner's singing. The melody forced him to think of a night from his past….

It was 1992. The gang, him, Ning, Lu Bu and Hua Xiong had snuck into the theatre to see "Waynes's World." They came out of the film, proclaiming it the best film ever. The four of them jumped into Lu Bu's 1982 Ford Fairmont and took off down the road after requesting the song on the radio. Even if they wanted to buy the cassette of it, the old Fairmont had an 8-track, so they sent Ning to call in on the payphone. Then they got some beer. It was all the same kind of stupid shit they always did. They'd hit some poor bastard's house, steal his electronics and finish out their evening in an abandoned warehouse on pier 7 at ChiBi Docks. It was the way things were back in the old days, and he was just a stupid sixteen year old kid who did everything his best friend told him to do. It always worked out and they never got caught.

After the four of them finished the song they decided to head back to the theatre, to catch the movie again. Instead they found Zhou Yu with his young girlfriend. Tai's younger brother had just turned fifteen, and he had one of his perfect women on his arm. Lu Bu snickered and jumped out of the car, calling a drunken salute to the younger Zhou boy. Yu responded with an insult, as always, and then it began. Lu Bu challenged him and despite being two years younger and less muscular he accepted the fight. Tai remembers the fight like a blur. Yu was quick with his jabs and landed a smooth uppercut than another to his face. Then Lu Bu's rage powered by the five cans of Budweiser kicked in and Tai watched his baby brother get beaten into the sidewalk. He remembered the plead from Yu's girlfriend and the groans, but most of all his mother's astonished look when he told then what happened. He had enough sense to call an ambulance, and he rode with the unconscious boy to the emergency room. Then he waited for his parents. When they finally were allowed to see him, mom and dad forced him to stay in the waiting room with a curt 'You've done enough tonight'. He hovered around the room until they left, hoping to say 'I'm sorry' to the brother he was supposed to watch over. But Sun Ce, had already made it to his side. Tai looked in the room as Ce cut his palm with his pocket knife and swore he'd be the brother Yu needed, no deserved. He watched Yu's hand come up and grasp his new brother's hand with his tattered and swollen one. Tai hung his head and left, to Chi Bi, and he still to this day hasn't had to chance to say sorry.

_(HONK!)_ Tai's head snapped up and he realized that the light had turned green. He put his foot on the accelerator as Ning leaned out the passenger side window flashing his badge and cussing the guy out.

* * *

_(Three Kingdoms Pencil Factory (Abandoned) Main Office of Luo Yang Underground )_ 5:03 pm 

"HONEY! I'm home!" Lu Bu swung the door open and looked around as his voice echoed in the old building. He peeled off his Maui Jim Titanium sunglasses and smiled at his girlfriend.

Chan waited in the freight elevator for her two employees to quit screwing around. "I called you at 3:30, how does it take an hour and a half to get here?"

"We stopped off to get some food." Liao explained. "We couldn't decide whether to get Pizza or BBQ. So we got both."

"Of course we had to go to Gino's in Cheng Du for the Pizza and Jian Ye for the City BBQ and then I couldn't forget about that pretentious crap you like. So we went to Xu Chang for the French Quiche goo. Here you are sugarplum, love you." Lu Bu handed her the small box that contained her flaky puffy gay food and kissed her cheek.

"Thanks." She opened the lid and was surprised he got it to her intact. "But where's the pizza?"

"We ate it at the pizza place. Come on Chan, I'm not getting cheese oil all over my leather seats." Lu Bu smiled as the elevator began to raise them to the top floor.

"But we still got BBQ!" Liao handed his friend one of the bags of food.

"Alright, you boys ready for this?" Chan asked excitedly.

"Do I get to blow up something?" Liao plead.

"Can I shot some more people?"Lu Bu's face lit up.

"Both." She sauntered out of the elevator and into the office. The windows were all board up but the interior was pristine. The floors were carpeted and the furniture was all mahogany. The 16 foot conference table took up the center of the room while several desks were alone the walls with computers and other electronic equipment. The entire north wall of the former pencil factory office floor was covered in weapons. From the smallest derringer to the Liao's precious array of missile and rocket launchers, it was all there. All of Liao's explosives were concealed in an old closet, which could be detonated by remote control to take the entire building down if need be. Chan prided herself on the obscure location of her company, it was as professional as it got. She pointed to the table and the boys eagerly looked over the photos.

"So who's starting the war?" Lu Bu asked.

"You're not going to believe it." Chan chuckled. "I hardly do. It's a WPC/Nanman combined effort."

"You're shitting me." Liao said. "I get to blow up the _Times_? Implosion, fiery inferno, vaporization, what?"

"Whatever you want. Just take her down." Chan smiled as Liao got a tear in his eye.

"Awww. So many options." He looked over the blueprints and walked over to his closet.

"Who do I get to shoot?" Lu Bu clapped his hands. "Come on stop teasing me!"

"Not who, what." Chan tossed him the picture of Wei International's private helicopter.

"Yeah! I can use my Barrett .50 Cal! Fuckin' awesome!"


	5. The First Shot

_GTA: Luo Yang_

Chapter 5

**The First Shot**

* * *

One week later. The Ma family has been buried, the closings on both XiLiang Farms and Han Sui's farm have been completed and the transfers recorded with the county and all is quiet in Luo Yang for the moment.

* * *

_[Liu Bei's Home Peach Orchard 7:15 am_

Ma Chao walked over to the freshly dug graves and sighed. There were actually four representatives of the Ma family here; Zilong had insisted that his mom be given a place of honor as well. Something about Liu Bei's wives having their hands full. Chao had to grin; Zilong was always so full of shit. They had been tossing the last bit of dirt on Xiu's grave when his best friend came running up with a spring water container in a wheelbarrow. "Don't forget your mom!" he hollered and pointed to a spot next to Teng's grave. It was insane, burying a blue water jug with water out of an algae ridden old farm pond but it was a really nice idea. Liu Bei was somewhat put off by it thinking it would upset him, but Chao simply began digging another hole. The ceremony was small, just him Liu Bei and Zilong. He didn't want his tragedy to ruin everyone else's days. They were gone and no amount of sorrow would bring them back. One day, the man responsible for this massacre would die. He only hoped he could be the one to bring the sword of justice down on that son of a bitch.

"You know…" Liu Bei wandered over. "I was hoping to be able to write in feeding King onto Shan's daily chore list. It doesn't help me be a demanding parent if you show up every morning to feed your horse."

"You're doing so much for me already…."

"Shan hasn't" Liu Bei grinned and gave Chao a mug of delicious Folgers coffee.

"You sound like my dad." Chao chuckled. "Only reason to have kids is the free labor!"

"Exactly." Liu Bei smirked. "So make my kid do some work, huh? Write out some kind of maintenance schedule so he has to do everything. The boy's playing too much Playstation."

"Nothing wrong with that." Chao defended the notion. He and Zilong spent all of their free time playing Lord of the Rings or Samurai Warriors.

* * *

_[Lu Bu's apartment 7:29 am_

"Good news" Chan jumped on Lu Bu who was lying on the plush couch watching TV.

"Sugarpie, it's always good news when you're wearing a lace nightie." Lu Bu grinned and kissed her thinking she was interested in screwing again.

"No." She sat up and watched him frown. "Just got the schedule from my sources at the airport. Cao Ang is going up in the copter to take some pictures of the new Sun Bridge. Looks like your time has come."

"When?"

"Noon. He's got some photographer to go with him. Wen Chou."

"Well then after breakfast I'll go make some noise. I bet I can get that bitch to go down in the Chang Jiang gorge too. Good luck investigating there." He smiled and played with the hem on Chan's nightgown.

"Call Liao. Tell him to take out the Times tonight. I want a minimum of lives taken; we want this war to be as destructive as it can be. Sun Jian will need all the help he can get."

* * *

_[Yuan Shao's Home North Luo Yang. 7:30 am_

Guan Yu looked over the plans for the addition to the Yuan home and moaned. It was incredible how differently an architect and a general contractor could think, despite working on the exact same project. Guan Yu looked down at the blueprints and wanted to kick himself for not noticing it earlier. It was time to drag Chao out of the office and give him a hands-on experience with his creation. He grabbed his cell and held it on his shoulder as it rang.

"_Shu Construction, Innnncorporated. Zhao Yun speakin'. What can I do for you today_?"

"This is a business Zilong, not a gameshow. Don't roll your 'n's."

"_Ah, Behinnnnnd door nnnnnumber onnne is none other than the general contracting god Guan Yu_! _ Spay and nnnnuetor your critters please!_"

"Lay off the expresso man, it will rot your nerves." Yu looked over and waved at Zhang Fei and his passel of roofing children: sons, Bao and Shao and his daughter Li. Li waved back and blew him a kiss.

"_What you need chief_?

"That educated friend of yours to get down to this Yuan site and get a healthy does of reality."

"_Cool. Anything else_?"

"Yeah, we're running low on gravel. Send him down here with the dump truck and make him pick up some number 8's at the quarry on his way over."

"_Can do!_"

"Alright Yun, that's all."

"_Over and out!"_

* * *

_[WSUN Advertising office 8:32 am_

Sun Shang Xiang clicked the volume up a notch as her song began to play. She grinned. When no one was looking she snuck it into the programming list for the eight o'clock hour. Taischi Ci would be in her small office in a matter of minutes, screaming bloody murder. She grinned as "We built this city" began to play.

Taischi Ci ran down the small hallway of the radio station and burst into the Advertising office. "SHANG!"

"Yes Ziyi?"

"Don't call me that at work! And don't try and distract me!"

"What's wrong?" Shang asked innocently and bit her lip as the song continued.

"Oh god! I can't believe I'm hearing this shit! Listen, rule number three on my list is ABSOLUTELY NO STARSHIP! You understand that? No Starship is to be played on my radio station!" Ci's face turned red with rage.

"Actually it's my dad's radio station isn't it, Ziyi?"

"I will fire you woman!"

"Let me have my song…it helps me concentrate." She snickered. "Besides I have a picture here of you and me when I was little. See" She held up the photograph. "Me all cute and you with a mullet. I'd hate this evidence of your plunge into eight's culture to be circulated around the station."

"If you want to hear this infernal song then call in a request to a WEI RADIO STATION!"

Shang hid her smile with her hand as Ci slammed the door on his way out. It would even be funnier when he discovered she had slipped some Bangles into the two o'clock programming. She looked back to the computer and began typing again. Perhaps it would be even better if she used one of Ci's favorite songs as a background theme for one of their sponsors.

Taischi Heng looked up and down the hall to see if his father had disappeared, then he slipped into the advertising office. "You are the coolest chick I have ever met." Heng hugged her where she sat.

"You do realize I'm only trying to get myself kicked out of the station right?" Shang looked up at her friend. It was the truth. She was on a plan to get tossed out of each of the Sun family companies and move her office into her penthouse apartment. Daddy had it in his head that she needed to experience each of the individual companies in order to understand the kind of marketing that they needed. Officially speaking she was interning at Sun Publishing since they had a reputable marketing division that actually worked with Luo Yong University anyhow. It was all a ridiculous run around to begin with. Come next June she would graduate with her bachelor's degree in marketing and her bachelor of fine arts in studio art: photography (Much to her father's disapproval). Then she knew her father was planning to let her drift from company to company until he would finally give her the go to create Sun Advertising. All she really wanted to do was be a photographic nomad. See the world like one of those National Geographic photojournalists….but she was a Sun child. There were things that needed to be taken care of in Luo Yang.

"Yup. But it's going to be funny as all hell while you're here." Heng grinned. He was one of the WSUN radio personalities, thanks to his father. But like all the Taischis, Heng was really good at what he did. He was a senior in high school now, and by far the most popular kid at Jian Ye High. His first class was at 11 am, thanks to their work study program, so he was slowly branching out into morning radio. The unique sound and opinion of a seventeen year old kid mixed in with the highly conservative voice of Sun Qian made Luo Yang Sunrise the most popular morning talk show in the city.

"Hey, you want to be on a bus or billboard?" Shang asked as she toyed with the images on her graphics program.

"Hmmm…Well mass transit would give the sexually repressed housewives of Luo Yang something to look at….but also something for bums to piss on. Billboards make me out to be a god of sorts…high and mighty Taishi Heng looking down on his peeps of Luo Yang. Speaking out to the masses…."

"Easy there Adolf." Shang shook her head. Theses radio people were so full of themselves.

"Billboard heil!" Heng chuckled.

"Okay. Do me a favor. Ask Qian what he'd like for me."

"Sure thing!" Heng opened the door and check the hallways again. "Hey…you got another one planned today?" he whispered over his shoulder.

"Yup. Two o clock."

"I'll be sure to be in my car and not algebra then." Heng left, thinking about how he could get out of Math class and into his Plymouth Barracuda this afternoon.

* * *

_[Yuan Shao's House 9:30am_

Ma Chao pulled into the cluttered driveway with the old rattling dump truck filled with ten tons of number 8 gravel. The truck was a blast to drive, it reminded him of the ancient John Deere that his dad had when he was a kid. Slowly he came to a screeching halt and fiddled with the stick shift to get it out of second gear. While he was messing with it Guan Yu came up to the door.

"So you did come." He smiled.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I? I hear you're having problems reading my work." Chao slammed the parking brake on and looked over at the foreman.

"Yeah…well maybe you can tell me what's wrong with that picture." Yu pointed to the rooftop where the Zhang children and Guan Ping were scurrying around trying to lay shingles.

"Well young Zhang Li is wearing a sports bra to work, I never thought Fei to be a man to allow his 15 year old baby to do that." Chao looked back over at Yu.

"Hmmm." Guan Yu smiled. He knew Li would be hitting on Chao as soon as his foot hit the ground. He could see her looking down at them now. At least she was over her Liu Bei crush. "Well let's go for a walk them."

"Oh look. It's the architect who's trying to kill my babies." Fei had two bundles of shingles over his shoulder as he walked past.

"Huh?" Chao asked.

"Hi Chao!" Li waved from the rooftop. "Come up and see me! Make sure you take off that expensive shirt of yours, we can't have it getting ruined."

"Hi Li." Chao waved and looked at Yu. "What?"

"Come on, grab a bundle and come on up."

Chao took his shirt off and threw it on the front seat of the truck and Li began to clap and hum a swanky stripping tune.

"HEY! BAO! You better be bringing a bundle up with you too! I want this done before I leave today!" Li screamed and waved her air nailer at him. Bao ignored her and continued to talk to Guan Xing. She frowned and pressed her finger down on the safety and fired a roofing nail into the dumpster next to her brother. "I'm fucking serious Bao!"

"Shit Li!" Bao ducked behind the dumpster as the nail hit it with a 'tink'.

Chao tossed a pack of singles over his shoulder and laughed. Li was every bit her father. He walked up the ladder and over to the new addition. He slapped the bundle down on the ridge and looked up at the two men staring down at him. "What?"

"Morning Chao." Li smiled sweetly and walked over. She gently touched his forearm and whispered. "If you need any consoling…."

"Li, get back to work." Fei snorted.

"I'll be eighteen in 27 months." She winked. "Save yourself for me."

Chao had to smile. "I promise I'll buy you dinner." He patted her head and she went back to laying shingles, purposely leaning over in his direction to give him a clear view of her new low cut sports bra.

"What do you think?" Yu asked.

"A little steep?" Chao asked. He realized now that he had designed without taking into consideration the pitch of the roof.

"A little." Yu nodded.

"My babies are up here." Fei yawned. "Can't have them falling down and breaking their necks. Someone had to take over my spot when I'm old and grey."

Li looked over as Bao trudged up the roof. "Stop scuffing up my roof, dumbass."

"So what is this I hear about taking the old man's job?" Bao asked his sister.

"Well, it would appear that our father has anticipated an early retirement due to his sciorosis."

"Ah, so the eldest son gets to follow in dad's staggering footsteps? Well okay, I guess I'll be just like you when I grow up." Bao shrugged and ripped open a pack of shingles. "Give up those dreams of being a junkie."

"It's about time." Fei muttered.

"Actually." Li nailed another row of shingles down. "You may be too late for that. You are sixteen already. In order to be like dad you would have had to get your girlfriend knocked up in the backseat of your Buick Riviera already. Hell, by now you should have started on the second kid, you know using that same pack of condoms that didn't work the first time."

"True. It looks like I am too late to continue the great Zhang family tradition. You still have a chance Li. Make dad proud." Bao watched his father get pissed and Guan Yu chuckle.

"Well if I must." Li sighed dramatically. "Chao, would you like to take a drive? I have my learner's permit. You're old enough for me to drive with."

"That's enough." Fei stammered. "Damn brats. Why the hell do I still feed you?"

"Because you have exceptional family values." Li smiled. "Like all boys who become fathers at 15."

"Alright. Chao,Yu, get the hell off my roof. I need to beat these damned kids back into a decent workforce."

"Call me Chao! The honor of the Zhang family is at stake!" Li hollered as he climbed down off the roof.

"God help me if she's still like that when she turns eighteen." Chao shook his head.

"Be good for you." Yu smirked. "Someone to remind you to keep your roofs angled."

"It's not that steep."

* * *

_[SCI) 11:00 am_

Pang Tong walked into the main office after a three hour flight from Cancun. He yawned and stretched happy to finally be home. "Hey kiddo."

"Hey Tong." Yun laughed. Tong had come home wearing a typical Mexican poncho, a straw hat with red puffball tassels and was carrying a staff of some sort. "What's with the stick?"

"It's a rain stick." Tong explained and turned it over. "So Pete can find me."

Yun smiled. Pete was Tong's blind Lab/Boxer mix. The dog wandered around wide eyed and happy as could be, but he ran into damned near everything. Not that it seemed to bother him. "He's missed you. Bei was just telling me this morning what an attention hog he is."

"I should have brought him. Would have helped me hit on those college girls." Tong winked and looked over at the conference table. "What's that?"

"Oh, your next project. Sun Jian wants a railroad bridge over the Chang Jiang."

"Oh." Tong chuckled. "What does Chao think of this?"

"Man!" Yun leaned back in his swivel chair. "You picked a week to leave. Shit, Tong, Chao's family got killed…..no murdered."

"Awww…poor kid."

"Lost the farm too."

"It always happened to the nice ones doesn't it? That's a shame."

"Tong?" Bei walked in. "Welcome home!"

"Hey buddy. I hear you're letting the world know about my degree. Bastard."

"You can run some lights across it if you want." Bei grinned.

"Ah." Tong tossed his hat onto a hat rack and leaned his rainstick against the wall. "So what have we got?"

"Sun Jian bought this piece of land here. His men are pushing the tracks across the old CRR lines to this point."

"Used to be a bridge there." Tong looked at the aerial photo. "Must have washed out."

"Before our time."

"Well I guess I'll take over the architect's office then. If I really have to do his job……"

"HEY!" Chao came in carrying a pizza box. "Can't believe I splurge for lunch and you come home and insult me!"

"Should you be in class?" Tong lifted the lid of the box and grabbed a slice.

"No class today." He put the box down. "So can I at least help? I am capable of making functional pieces."

"How do you feel about going over to the boss's house and getting my dog?"

"And leaving the pizza?" Chao asked.

"Well you are a smart one, aren't you? I guess you can help me with the bridge. Just don't go putting it in your portfolio."

* * *

_[Ru Nan Road Scenic Overlook 12:00 pm_

Lu Bu flipped around the radio looking for something catchy to put himself in the mood for such a spectacular shot. He grinned and turned the radio up, nothing like a little Brittany Spears to make him feel good. He happily sang along. "Oh baby baby, How was I supposed to know that somethin' wasn't right.."

Lu Bu jumped out of the Carrera singing the song as he went, and did a nice little dance as he reached the front of the car. He popped open the luggage compartment to reveal his Limited Edition Barret M107 semi-automatic rifle. It weighed about 32 lbs but considering it was a .50 cal rifle, no one complained. The recoil was hardly anymore noticeable than a 12 gauge shotgun. He lay down on the ground overlooking the Chang Jiang gorge and adjusted the front spiked bipod feet and then the monopod on the back of the firearm. Whistling along to the song he had just heard on the radio he snapped the 10 round magazine into position and pulled the lens protectors off of the U.S. Optics SN-2 6x-30x scope. Gently he nestled his head against the stock and looked through the scope. Perfect, just like when he put it back in the case. Now he just had to wait.

Soon his mark arrived in the form of a 2000 Bell 430 helicopter. It was a sleek looking corporate craft, costing $4.7 million dollars and Lu Bu took a deep breath and aimed for the gearbox. He pulled the trigger and heard the whine before he saw anything else. The blades began to slow and the Bell began to spiral out of control. Lu Bu frowned; it wasn't going to hit the rock formation he had planned. Instead it crashed against the gorge wall and tumbled into the Chang Jiang ablaze and in fragments. The high flowing river began to wash it away.

Task completed he stood up and folded the bipod and unipod back and cleaned his scope lens with a Zeiss cloth. With a happy whistle he clipped the lens protector back on and returned his precious toy to its safe little home. He bent down and picked up the brass that the gun had kicked out and put it in his pocket, site clean. Now to find something else he could sing to.

* * *

_[LYPD Police Commisioner's office 1:14 pm_

Yuan Shao held the phone about five inches away from his ear, the yelling was that intense. "Look Cao Cao, I sent out the appropriate people…."

"_BUT I WAS THE ONE WHO HAD TO FIND THEM_!"

"Yes I know, but the LYPD doesn't have the funding for a police chopper. You're the only one in the city with those resources. I already sent the port authority down the Chang Jiang to look for survivors….I am sorry about your son_."_

_"This…." Cao hissed. "Will_ _mean your job_!" [CLICK

"You say that every time we talk." Shao said to no one as he put the receiver down. This was really bad. Cao's private helicopter had gone down with one of his son's aboard. The eldest at that. The Wei mogul had instantly blames Sun Jian for it. Shao tried to calmly explain that Jian didn't go around shooting aircraft down with a high powered rifle. Cao turned around and accused him of helping. This was a horrible sign….the war was about to begin.

* * *

[_ChiBi Pier 3:42 pm_

Cao Cao stood on the pier as a small tug boat pushed the remains of his helicopter up to the dock on a barge. "Wu will fall for this."

"Did they…..find Ang?" Ren asked hesitantly.

"That." Cao pointed to the shattered propeller and half a windshield. "Was all they found. Everything else burned or smashed on impact."

"Christ….I'm sorry Cao."

"Do me a favor, make sure Dun knows to leave this alone for now."

"Yeah….I can do that." Ren turned and walked back to the car and opened his cell. Dun would know better than to put this shit on the air….but it would be nice to talk to his brooding cousin again. There would be a family meeting tonight….and Wei was going to declare war.

* * *

_[Sun Times) 5:32 pm_

Zhou Yu looked over at his cell phone annoyed. It was more than likely his wife trying to bring him home. He shook his head and looked at the time on his PC and silently cursed himself. He had forgotten about dinner at _He Jin's,_ the premier dining spot in Luo Yang. "Sorry sweetheart." He answered.

"_It's okay_!" Xiao answered. "_I know how you are, that's why I love you_."

"I'll be right there, okay? Order us a bottle of the Antinori 200 Solaia Cabernet Sauvignon, and the filet mignon." He clicked the shut down button on the computer after emailing his story to himself at home. He could work on it after Xiao went to bed.

"_I miss you." _She made a kissing sound and hung up.

Yu had to smile to himself; she always managed to calm him down. He cleared of the desk and neatly placed the paperwork in his briefcase. It was time for dinner with his lovely wife.

* * *

[_Downtown Luo Yang) Top of Seven Stars Parking Garage 6:00 pm_

Zhang Liao finished setting up his small video camera pointed at the _Sun Times_ building. He checked the viewfinder again and then his watch. It was about time. He had spent most of the afternoon wandering around the underground parking lot of the _Times_ placing packages of C-4 explosives with coffee cans of powdered Aluminum on the support pillars and some special packages of thermite and Magnesium ribbons in the trash cans. He spent the most time rigging the detonation device; he was very picky about the detonator. Now he pulled the remote device out of his pocket and smiled. Oh this was going to be sweet.

As he touched the button, it appeared as if nothing was actually happening. But slowly he began to hear the familiar sound that he loved. The primary charge was set to trigger the C-4, then the secondary fire would be the magnesium and finally the tertiary reaction which was the Thermite explosion. He smiled and sighed as the bottom of the Times building exploded and the entire building collapsed in on itself. Then the Magnesium blocks he left in strategic places began to burn thanks to the excessive heat generated by the Thermite. The Sun Times, was no more.


	6. Bridge Under Troubled Waters

_GTA: Luo Yang_

Chapter 6

**Bridge Under Troubled Waters**

* * *

_(Sun Publishing Company) 10:42 am_

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." Lu Meng stared at Zhou Yu from behind his huge walnut desk.

"I need to put the Times back in business. Until my new equipment arrives and I rent a warehouse, I'm borrowing yours." Zhou Yu smiled.

"No." Meng threw his hands up. "I have a business to run myself! I don't give a shit if you wipe Jian's ass for him, I'm not letting you sidetrack my portion of the company."

"Please, the world will still turn without you providing them with another intellectually stimulating masterpiece." Yu said dryly and sat down.

"And Luo Yang won't descend into chaos without your snide remarks about Dong Zhuo. Don't waste my time with this shit."

"I'm not, you are."

"Fine." Meng slammed the speakerphone button on and hit speedial #6.

"_I'm surprised it took this long."_

"Jian, tell this arrogant asshole that I'm not his bitch."

"Sir, can you reiterate the importance of daily journalistic influence in these turbulent times for your isolationist Nazi of publishing." Yu narrowed his eyes angrily.

"_(Sigh) Sorry Meng, I don't have a choice. We've got to keep up on this or the mayoral election is going to be a landslide victory for that pig again. Don't be a dick head, Gongjing, you're on his turf. Play by his rules."_

"That means you can have the facility at five p.m. when my people are done with it." Meng growled, irritated with the personal loss.

"Fine. But Lu Xun has already taken over your basement for his new server and technology headquarters." Yu shrugged. "Not that you care, you're probably still using Apple IIes around this retro hellhole."

_"Will he have the web Times back up anytime soon?" _

"Sir, remember the urgency in your voice when you get the bill for his new setup." Yu grimaced. Xun would have the Times back up on the internet by noon; he was so very picky about backing up everything. However the estimates on the cost of his new equipment weren't as optimistic.

"_Whatever it takes. I'm not letting Cao Cao have a moment's rest for this. I'm going to be pulling Shang out of there too, Meng. I need to get her involved in the new Times building. Sorry."_

"Mmmm. Well I expected as much." Meng knew Jian was going to have to put one of the kids on the new assignment. Ce didn't have the head for structures and Quan would never leave his Mill fearing someone might misplace a paperclip in his absence. So that left Sun Shang Xiang, which would be good for her. She was getting bored with her current job and she loved half naked construction men.

"_Well, maybe if she'd answer her phone that I pay for I'll tell her. Gongjing! Leave Meng alone and stay the hell away from his office. Turn the mansion into your damned paper building if need be. I want an evening edition, got it?"_

"Then I better go home, I have a full page editorial I need to write."

"And I have to make some money for Sun Media Corp to counter the huge debt incurred because the Times can't pull its own weight."

"At least my company scared someone enough to try and silence it." Yu got up and smirked. "Can't imagine anyone wanting to stop "Musou Wine for the Soul" from hitting the shelves."

"_Behave. I don't need more dead people on my hands. Play nice or your new office will be next to the reclamation plant."_

* * *

_(Wei International HQ) 11:00 am_

"They have hit one of our own." Cao Cao stared out the boardroom window overlooking the Xu Cheng Park. A young lithe woman ran across the lush grass playing with her dog. She tossed a Frisbee and the happy dog leapt in the air to catch it. Then some dumbass came over to hit on her and she moved on.

Zhen Ji stared intently at Cao Cao's back as he heaved with fury. His shoulders were set back and his strong masculine jaw was clenched in anger. She couldn't believe how turned on she could be when he was angry. Her thoughts were interrupted by Cao Pi's gentle touch. "What?" she whispered angrily.

"I just wanted to see if you were okay…" Pi took his hand away. He felt so out of place here, this was the first time he was actually invited to attend one of the board meetings. And he was sitting in his dead brother's chair. He couldn't believe how in an instant he had become the heir to Wei International…..something he didn't really know how to handle.

"Then we'll hit them back." Xiahou Dun assured his cousin.

"Take one of his kids…." Dian Wei suggested.

"I want every one of you redirecting your company's attentions to destroying Sun Media. You put that son of a bitch out of business." Cao turned and looked over the faces.

"I have some plans already draw up. They are in the folders in front of you…mere suggestions." Sima Yi took another swig of cognac. "From a financial standpoint that is."

"What about his new building projects with Shu Construction?" Xiahou Yuan asked flipping through his folder. He was amazed at how orderly and detailed all the notes were.

"Let him sink some money into new paper building….then we'll readdress that." Cao sat down at the head of the table again.

"What about Shu?" Cao Ren asked

"When they get involved we will deal with that." Cao replied

"You all have discretionary funds." Sima Yi reminded. "Use them wisely."

* * *

_SCI Liu Bei's office 12:02 pm_

Liu Bei was eating his lunch, a chicken finger sandwich from Johnny's restaurant, when the phone rang. He quickly swallowed the bit he had in his mouth and rinsed it down with Cherry Coke. "Shu Construction, Liu Bei speaking."

_"My paper building got blown up, can you help me out?"_

"Jian, I can't put a hold on any of our current projects…. but I'm sure we can work something out."

"_Zhou Yu has taken over my house…my entire house. And he's bitchy too_."

"Throw something at him."

"_Funny. Anyhow, I'm going to be sending my daughter your way this afternoon with the old blueprints and the modifications we'll need in the new building. Hopefully it will give your architect an idea of what we need."_

"Chao will be thrilled, as will Tong. With Chao refocused, Tong will have some breathing room. Once you get those prints over here, Chao will be able to have a plan ready in 24hrs."

"_Great, I'll handle all the paperwork and that bureaucratic bullshit. Shang will be over with the info later…bye."_

Liu Bei smiled and bit into his waiting sandwich. Mmmmm….no one could top a Johnny's chicken finger sandwich.

* * *

_(Luo Yang) Alley behind Li Ru's Produce Emporium 5:34 pm_

Xu Zhu sat in his Ford E150 enjoying the services of one of Luo Yang's affordable hookers. The woman was a bit older but far more experienced than any of those other girls he had passed on his way to the alley. He smiled happily as she worked her magic on the penis he hadn't seen in years. He looked at the roof of the van's cargo area and peered into the mirror he had fastened up there. Yes there was something nice about watching these girls work. He closed his eyes and grunted…oh that was nice.

"Okay sugar..." Hu Zhi wiped her mouth off with her sleeve and put a Listerine cool mint breath strip on her tongue to get rid of the aftertaste of her 'work'. "That will be $150."

"Alright." Zhu handed her a wad of cash and watched her count it.

"Hey baby, you remember Zhi when you need another blow, kay?"

"You bet." He watched the woman jump out of his van and with the smile still on his face he grabbed his Louisville slugger and opened up the side door to take his money back.

* * *

_Liu Bei's House 9:34 pm_

Sun Shang Xiang knocked on the door of the old farmhouse and listened to Murdoch whimper in the car. She ignored him and bent down to say hello to the cute little Basset Hound staring at her on the other side of the screen door. "Hey there, aren't you adorable." Murdoch whined louder, jealous that the word 'adorable' was being used for someone other than him. The basset just looked at her with his dopey eyes and thumped his tail gently.

"Hello?" Liu Bei materialized. "Oh, hi Lady Sun. I didn't expect you so late."

"You know my father. It's never too late to ask people to work."

"Come on in, please. Jackson, move." Bei tried to move the sixty pound dog but he just kept staring at the lady.

"Jackson, do you want to meet Murdoch?" Shang asked as the short dog got up and wagged his whole body.

"Go on then." Bei opened the door and the dog began to jump on Shang. "I'm warning you now, he likes to seduce women."

"What?" Shang played with his ears.

"I know it sound weird, but you'll see." Bei walked over to small pasture that served as a dog pen. He opened the gate, "Go on, in the pen."

"Murdoch! You get to run and get dehydrated!" Shang clipped his leash on and let him out of his harness. "My dog is poorly behaved, 80 lbs and very energetic. So I've warned you."

"Sounds like a taller version of that one." Bei watched the happy Boxer lunge into the pen and begin to run away from the stubby basset. "So now that you've been hit on by my dog, would you like some iced tea?"

"If you let me wipe the foamy jowl juice off your shirt." Shang pulled a towel for Murdoch's drool off the passenger seat of the Jeep. She gently wiped the saliva off his shirt. "Sorry, it tends to fly everywhere." _There are some muscles under there…._

"Really, I don't mind. Come on in."_ First time a woman touches me in two years and it's to wipe off dog drool...humpf._

"My father asked me to personally deliver this to you." Shang smiled as Liu Bei looked at her surprised.

"He must have been working on this all day." Bei nodded to the couch. "Take a seat; I'll get you something to drink."

"HI!" Liu Chan bounced up on the couch. "Are you dating my dad?"

"Son, stop trying to set me up with everyone. You're as bad as the dog." Bei disappeared into the kitchen.

"Like cartoons?" Chan asked.

"Some. I prefer the ones that come on after your bedtime." She sat down next to the kid.

"Oh those. Yun and Chao always make me go to bed when South Park comes on. Is that what you watch?"

"Yeah amongst others." Shang smiled.

"So you think you might be interested in my dad? He's single and he's got money."

Shang laughed as Bei came back in. He smiled, she did have a delightful laugh. "Chan, go save Middle Earth, but let the dogs in."

"Okay." Chan ran to the back door. He stood back as Murdoch and Jackson blew by him on a direct route to Shang's lap. Murdoch bumped the shorter dog over and sat down on Shang leaving Jackson to pull his seductive looks leaning against the pillow.

"You are a little whore aren't you?" Shang whispered.

"Can they come up to play with me?" Chan asked happily.

"Sure." Bei tussled his kid's hair.

"Tire him out." Shang instructed and watched the three youngsters run up the stairs to Chan's room.

"So this is the whole thing eh?" Bei flipped through the folder and looked at the copies of the old blueprints with Zhou Yu's perfect handwriting pointing out improvements.

"Dad says you can put off the finish work so they can get in quicker."

"Nice thought but he still needs a certificate of occupancy before he can do anything. That requires me to finish it. Don't worry; we'll be off this Yuan Shao job soon. Then the finish work can begin there, and we can break ground on this. Does he have a location pinpointed?"

"Yes. Some really expensive plot downtown. Already cleared and all that." Shang looked up at the clock. "Oh shit! It's almost ten!"

"Have a date?" Bei asked curiously.

"Yeah, with channel 9! Gilmore Girls is on tonight."

"Be my guest." Bei handed her the remote. "So you watch UPN programming…I thought you were an educated girl."

Shang pushed him gently. "It is intelligent programming! It makes me feel smart because I get the little odd reference to literature and movies and the sarcasm and banter is hilarious. Watch with me, I'll prove it to you."

"I don't really have a choice, you're in my house." Bei chuckled and sat back enjoying the company.

"This…." She waved the remote at his face. "Is important. Besides, you'll be hooked, I guarantee it. I better explain the story so far….."

* * *

_(Lu Bu's Apartment) 10:34 pm_

"Chan, you want to come to bed sometime soon?" Lu Bu called out as he lay on the King size bed covered in silk sheets. He played with the satellite receiver remote trying to find something of interest on. Ah infomercials…at least those made him laugh.

"_So call 1-900-HO-HOUSE to get your FREE FREE FREE information packet from Ten Eunuchs Enterprises today. Don't loose out on this incredible opportunity to own your very own brothel in New Zealand right now! Tell us again, Huo Lan, why this business venture is possible today!"_

_"Thank you Duan Gui! I know our viewers are probably wondering why we are advertising this in the good old US when were talking about New Zealand whores! I'll tell you why, legality! Yes, thanks to a new law passed in New Zealand, prostitution has been legalized. And that means that bordellos are in need! Tell us why, Jian Shou."_

_"Well, that's quite simple. Looking at this chart here, you can see the basic principles of economics: Supply and Demand. That's right folks….simple fact is we all want to screw and sometimes that special person needs to be paid to have sex with us. No shame in it really! Just the way life is, so why not make a tidy profit off of it? Let's hear from Guo Sheng, he'll let us all know what exactly it is we're trying to sell."_

_"Hahahaha…Well we're trying to sell sex! Ha! Well what you're going to get by calling this number right now…1-900-HO-HOUSE is an investment opportunity. You and other callers will be given a once in a lifetime opportunity to become stockholders in the newest brothel in New Zealand. Yes, part owner of a money making factory. Why is it that you need us to run this establishment for you? Well only the Ten Enuchs have already applied for the license with the Prostitution commission and fully understand the regulations involved in brothel management. You certainly don't want to be the one cleaning and sanitizing everything in the sex toy closet at night do you? I think not! We'll leave that job for Zhang Rang!"_

"What the hell are you watching?" Diao Chan crawled into bed and stared at the TV.

"Infomercials." Lu Bu looked down her nightgown and clicked the TV off. "So…."

"So….what?" Chan climbed on top of him and kissed him..

"What can I do for you tonight sweetums?"

* * *

_Liu Bei's House 11:05 pm_

Shang peeked in the boy's bedroom and saw the kid, and two dogs piled on the small twin bed. Murdoch was taking up most of it, and snoring. Jackson was curled up in a little ball as was Chan. They all seemed to be doing fine. She closed the door gently and glanced down the stairs. She grinned mischievously and peaked in the other bedroom to satisfy her curiosity. A few shirts thrown on the chair, but overall exceptionally tidy. She detected absolutely no presence of a woman whatsoever. Why exactly did she care? Was she really that attracted to him?

Bei stirred the sizzling chicken and reached for the brown sauce. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah, all sleeping. What are you doing?" She walked up behind him and looked over his shoulder.

"Making you some dinner." He grabbed a handful of nuts and threw them into the wok. "I noticed you ate the entire bowl of mixed nuts on the coffee table. I might as well feed you if you're going to push your way into my home, hold me hostage and make me watch your program."

"But you enjoyed it." She poked him in the ribs and heard him yelp with surprise.

"Yes.. I have to admit I did." He poured the contents of the pan onto a plate and handed it to her. "Eat."

Shang ate a mouthful of the steaming hot food. "Shit, this is good."

"Thanks." He pulled out a plate for himself and decided to join her.

"So what are you going to need from me?" Shang wolfed her food down.

"We just have to solidify the plans first. Then I believe you'll be getting the bureaucratic legwork."

"At least I'm out of Meng's world for a while." She rolled her eyes. "Thanks…this was probably the nicest date I've had in a while."

"If I knew this was a date I would have put my muck boots outside. "Bei laughed. If only he could get a date with a girl like her. "Want some dessert?"

"Sure. I'm going to add some notes on the advertising office in those blueprints. God only knows how much time I'll be spending in there."

"Go ahead, I'll fix something." Bei wandered around the kitchen collecting the items required for his famous ice cream sundae. He strolled in to the living room with the creation and Shang's eyes lit up.

"Damn! Why aren't women banging down your door?"

"I'm sorry you must have me confused with Zhao Zilong."

"Shang dug her spoon into the sundae and came away with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, caramel, walnuts and a cherry. It was the best thing she had ever tasted.

"You do realize if we put a huge picture window in the advertising office, you'll have a scenic view of the dumpster and a subway entrance, right?"

"You just have to ruin my dreams don't you?" Shang dipped her finger in the whipped cream and dabbed it on his nose. "You should have suggested moving Zhou Yu's office to this side."

"Or I can completely change the orientation of the building so that your office is the focal point." He gave her his charming smile, something he hadn't used in a while.

Shang looked at the blob of whipped cream still on his nose and suddenly got the urge to lick it off. No….she couldn't. He was working for her dad, well kind of. He wasn't her type….although she did love older men. And right now her type was dumb brawny bastards who she could count on never calling her. He must have seen the look in her eye, because his face turned a bit quizzical but hopeful. What the hell? She left her spoon sticking up out of the ice cream and leaned over and let the tip of her tongue take the cream off his nose. Seductively she withdrew her tongue back into her mouth and licked her lips before moving in to kiss him.

Bei stood perfectly still until her lips met his. His heart began to race and he could hear his brain screaming about what a bad idea this was and how she was Jian's daughter, the daughter of the man he currently had two very large projects relying on. Then there was the fact that she was just a college girl and….his mind went blank as her hand ran up his chest and she pushed him back against the pillow. Ignoring his logical thoughts he kissed her back and let his hands roam over her back.


	7. The Eve of Battle

_GTA:Luo Yang_

Chapter 7

**The Eve of Battle **

* * *

_[WWEI Station Xiahou Dun's Office 7:30 am._

_"Honestly, I don't see how anyone can not be pointing the finger at Wei International right now!"_

_"Heng, since I must play devil's advocate….as always..."_

_"Comes with the turf, old man."_

_"As I was saying, the objections to that statement would be either. A:-you're paycheck is signed by Sun Jian and therefore you are obligated to be outraged by the destruction of one of his facilities and B:Cao Cao lost a son. This recent crime spree has taken a toll on both sides."_

_"Well maybe the helicopter malfunctioned? Anyone bring that up? Planes go down all the time! What kind of malfunction causes an entire building to implode?"_

Xiahou Dun picked up the remote and clicked the radio off. Every morning he sat in his office in WWEI studio and listened to the competition. Luo Yang Sunrise has the best ratings for any morning media outlet in the city, which always irritated him. Sure the statistics were in their favor, people commuting to work listened to the radio while housewives watched the morning news. But the fact was that the mayoral polls were seeing an increase in Yuan Shao support. That meant that the feeling was that Sun Media has suffered more of a hit. Figures, the Suns were always highly thought of whereas Cao Cao was usually thought of as a villain. People always loved to hate the incredibly successful.

With a tap of his fingers he lifted his company coffee cup to his lips and drank his rich Kona coffee, enjoying the smooth taste that couldn't be found in any grocery store brand. As the liquid ran down his throat he stopped and thought about his options. Yes, orders were to bankrupt Sun Jian. But the key to that was in targeting everyone who had ties to him. With a flick of his rolodex he found the card labeled 'Exterminating' and punched in the numbers. Success in the news business always revolved around the right contacts.

"_I usually deal with your boss."_ The cool sweet voice of Dian Chan came through the receiver.

"Well I just want information. As usual."

"_On the Suns, I presume?"_

"On all of their assets." Dun looked down at his planner. He had a lunch date with Zhen Ji and Xu Huang at 11 am. They were going to have to do some investigative reporting and earn their keep. Enlisting Diao Chan's assistance was simply going to give them an edge.

"_Alright. You know the way it works. I call when I have something and set a price. I'm always fair about it, don't you agree?"_

"You terms are always fine. If it's that good, I'm sure the boss wouldn't mind digging change out of the couch for you."

"_Then, I hope we speak again soon."_

"As do I."

* * *

_[SCI Main Office 7:46 am._

"Morning, your Excellency." Zhao Yun hid his grin as he dramatically checked his watch.

"Next time you're late, I'm giving you hell." Liu Bei brushed past the handmade chestnut desk that was soon to be his office manager's sacrificial alter.

"Hi Yun!" Liu Chan chirped as he ran into the office and jumped up into a chair.

"Miss the bus?" Yun asked and reached behind him for the donut box.

"Dad woke up late."

"CHAO! I have the Sun Times plans here, need them done by tonight!" Liu Bei hollered as he tossed the folder on the conference table and rushed into his office.

"Sure yell at me." Ma Chao quickly emerged from his own office unable to resist the juicy file on the table. "You're the one who's late."

"So what happened?" Yun asked, trying to occupy the kid as he typed some more entries into the fields of the spreadsheet he was working on. "Did Chao come over last night and hack your rooster to pieces with a pruning saw?"

"City boy." Chao snickered as he leafed through the paperwork.

"Nope, Lady Sun came over."

Yun stopped his typing and glanced over at Chao who also gave a curious look in the direction of the child. "Really."

"Yup, and Dad sent me to my room. That means they're together right? That's what you told me. When guys like girls they want to be alone with them."

"What?" Liu Bei materialized from his office and looked at the two young men jump.

Yue Ying rolled her office chair out into the main office and listened in. Liu Bei was beginning to get the little twitch over his eye that signified he was getting angry. The two roommates each reacted with a nervous chuckle.

"Hey Chan, I'll drive you to school…better fuel mileage and all." Yun jumped out of his chair and grabbed the kid by the hand.

"COOL! Can we listen to that "I like big butts" song?" Chan smiled as his favorite babysitter pulled him out of the office.

"And I need to get to class…" Chao lumped the papers back into the folder and grabbed his satchel out of his office before running out the door.

"The next time I ask those two to baby-sit, I'm calling social services on myself." Liu Bei growled and walked over to coffee pot.

Ying reclined in her chair and smiled, "So what did Lady Sun want?"

"She dropped off those sketches." Bei could feel her scrutinizing gaze watching his face for any sign of weakness. Not a lie, she did drop off the sketches. It was just followed by dinner, dessert and sex on the couch. Dear god, did that really happen? So many things were wrong with that. Sun Jian's baby girl, her peculiar collection of flavored condoms in her purse, his lack of objections, his son asleep upstairs…the list went on and on. But the worst part was he knew he would do it again if he had the chance.

"Did she drop anything else?" Ying raised her eyebrows as he turned to her with a nasty scowl.

"I expect this shit from those two kids but…. "

"Not from the girl who you lost your virginity to?" Ying giggled.

"I'm taking that as sexual harassment." Bei grinned. "Let me call my lawyer…"

"Tell me Xuande!" Ying whined. "Please! Let the gossip start with me for once!"

"She dropped off sketches." Bei looked up as Jiang Wei walked in with his empty coffee carafe.

Wei stopped in the doorway and dropped his glasses down to the tip of his nose, his characteristic way of scanning a situation. Where did everyone go? "Am I interrupting?"

"Nope, we're just talking about Lady Sun and her secret late night rendezvous at the Liu house." Ying winked at Bei as he rolled his eyes.

Wei refilled his 36 oz, carafe and whispered, "You can fire her. She doesn't do anything all day, just IMs her husband and reads that smutty _Redbook_."

"I heard that you little shit." Ying stuck her tongue out as Wei repositioned his glasses and held his coffee close. "Go back to the lair with the precious."

Wei pet the carafe and laughed. "Answer the phones will you, woman? I am doing important CPA things back here."

"You don't pull that off at all Buoyue. The 'CPA' kills just about any sentence." Ying watched the young accountant return to his den and noticed the boss slinking into his office. "Hey, I'm not finished with you."

Liu Bei smiled and pressed '1' and 'send' on his cell phone, the office phone began to ring and he watched Yue Ying scoot her chair over to answer. Distraction completed, he jumped into his office and slammed the door.

* * *

_[Downtown Luo Yang Former Sun Times Lot 7:59 am_

"Yes, this is such a generous donation." Zhang He mumbled sarcastically as he picked his way through the rubble and charred garbage on the lot that had been the home of the _Sun Times_ since its creation. Now it was nothing more than an empty lot in the middle of downtown and the newest donation to the great city of Luo Yang. Leave it to Sun Jian to make this tragedy into something to boost his public image: cry for the loss of your people, whine about your freedom of speech and then make a charitable contribution to make yourself look better. All wrapped up into one beautiful explosion and have the insurance company pay for the new building you needed anyway. Zhang He wrinkled his nose as he stepped in something mushy, then he realized what it was. "Perfect, it even comes with a battered corpse."

* * *

_[SCI 11:00 am_

Sun Shang Xiang reapplied her lipstick before jumping out of the Wrangler and grabbing her briefcase. It was time to see how effected Liu Bei would be by their intimate relations. With her customary smile she walked in the main building of Shu Construction.

"NO NO NO!" Zhou Yu screamed and pointed his finger at the blueprints. "What part of 'increase the square footage' don't you get?"

Ma Chao sat back in his comfortable chair as the annoying editor continued to whine. "And I can't help but wonder why a man of obvious intelligence can figure out how to add. Let me review. You have a set amount of space because of your lot size, and then you have to take into account things like sidewalks and gaudy bronze statues of tigers and printing presses…"

"Gongjing, are you being an asshole?" Shang Xiang snickered as she walked in.

"Yes, he is." Zhao Yun mumbled.

"I heard that, Mr. Secretary!" Zhou Yu snapped.

"Why are you here anyway? You're just the editor, aren't you?" Yun growled.

"Well our vice president still has a maladjusted nose thanks to him." Zhou Yu stared at Ma Chao.

"Which he deserved." Shang Xiang added. "By the way, nice work."

Chao smiled as the woman patted his shoulder. "Thanks…"

"What is with all the screaming?" Liu Bei walked out of his office confused and gave a simple nod to Shang Xiang. He only hoped his true nerves didn't show through and all of those stupid school plays back in high school taught him something about lying.

"Zhou Yu should go home." Shang Xiang sat down at the conference table. "Let the wife braid your hair and bedazzle your silky robe."

"You're not helping."

"Really? I thought I was being supportive. This is after all my project isn't it? Don't you have a newsletter to put out?"

"Lady Sun, would you be interested in joining us for karaoke night at the Sleeping Dragon Inn tonight?" Ma Chao completely ignored Zhou Yu pointing at the blueprints and tapping his finger.

"That sounds great!" Shang Xiang smiled seeing Yu's head begin to throb.

"We have a band, Chao plays guitar, I sing, Jiang Wei has bass and Pang Tong takes the drums." Yun explained. "We're the karaoke machine….we get free booze for it."

"And many, many phone numbers." Jiang Wei lifted his coffee mug in a mock toast to Zhou Yu who was digging his fingernails into the conference table.

"Sounds wonderful!" Shang Xiang grinned, these guys were adorable and they seemed like fun.

"And if you ask nice, Liu Bei will sing some of his musical show stoppers." Yue Ying winked at the boss. "Ask him for his solo from Singin' in the Rain."

* * *

_[Downtown Luo Yang Former Sun Times Lot 11:09 am_

"So what's the problem?" Gan Ning looked around at the site and slurped his hot chocolate.

"Dead whore, beaten like the rest of them." The officer scratched his head and put his hat back on. "Why we waste our time with fuckin hookers...bitches know what they're in for. Should be investigating crimes that happen to people who aren't the rejects of society."

"Mmm." Ning shoved a donut in his mouth. He hated the beat cops they were always so opinionated and bitter. "That the guy who found the ho?" Ning spit pieces of bakery delight as he spoke.

"Yup. He's one of those..." The cop lowered his voice and flapped his hand around, "homos"

"Yippie." Ning walked over some crumbled concrete and twisted rebar.

"Hello detective." Zhang He stared at the disheveled man. How disgraceful, no wonder the streets were a crime riddled hell.

"Don't look at me like that; I'm not your type."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

* * *

_[Jian Ye Sun Freight Railyard 12:34 pm_

"Wentai….are we going to retaliate?" Huang Gai looked over at his old friend as his baby, the EMD SD70M-2 diesel locomotive pulled out of the rail yard. The 16 cylinder turbocharged 2 stroke engine smoothly pulled them and the load of steel destined for the new bridge towards the east.

Sun Jian sighed and leaned against the cab wall. The expensive new engine was Gai's pride and joy and he was happy that his long time friend finally got the damned thing. It had taken years for Jian to break down and buy it, he was a media mogul not a railroad baron, but the old engines they had were always in the shop. Sun Media was growing and they needed a dependable transportation source for the mill. It was a nice train, but all he kept thinking of was the hefty price tag and the 5000 gallon fuel tank. "That's what we would have done back then. But this is now and Luo Yang isn't what it used to be."

"We've been playing this game for years Jian." Gai adjusted some controls and looked back at the track in front of him. Nowadays there were all kinds of computer programs that ran these trains but where was the fun in that? "It's been push and shove for what, twenty years? The pushes are becoming more forceful as time goes on."

"So what are you saying? You want to take care of this the old way? That's not an option. This isn't just you and me versus Cao Cao and the Xiahou brothers anymore. The empires have grown as have our rosters. We can't just go wail on them in the street like we used to."

"Those were the good old days weren't they?" Huang Gai grinned as the images from the past flooded back. Then they were simply trying to run Sun Times after Jian's father retired. It was more difficult than it seemed, the cranky old staff members didn't want to take orders from the new young paper tycoon. Jian tore thorough them like a cyclone and most of the ancient reporters and editors packed away their old ribbon typewriters and left. It was a turning point of the Times, and Jian ushered in a new era of modern reporting, something that had been dominated by WWEI. Cao Cao did not take the competition kindly and used the influence of his father's estate to try and pressure the paper out of business. To answer the challenge, Jian and Gai had driven up to Xu Chang for a discussion outside of the gates of the then less lavish Wei Palace. Gai never thought that Cao Cao would step outside the marble pillars, but he was wrong. Yes, that night they had all gone home bruised and broken, but Jian had made his point clear. The Suns weren't going down without a fight. Through the years they had some mishaps, but nothing on the scale of the events earlier this week. The tension that had been mounting was finally about to blow and it worried him. In the beginning there wasn't much to lose, the paper was already in the red, but now….now there were the kids. Now Sun Media was a self-supporting empire and Sun Jian had a lot to loose.

"Helping Yuan Shao into office isn't going to do anything but give Dong Zhuo more time to plot against us."

"I agree. But it's a start."

"Doing things the right way doesn't mean much when the other guy doesn't play by the rules." Gai glanced over at Jian's thoughtful expression.

"I like to think we're better than them…I like to think the money hasn't gotten to us too."

"He's going to try and take us out. We need to be prepared, there's too much at stake."

"You're not talking about preparations." Jian glanced out the window as the digital 'whistle' blew and they moved through the crossing. Cars began to line up behind the protective barriers and he let his head rest against the window. Cao Cao had raised the stakes, no matter who sent that helicopter down into the Chang Jiang, and he was a very serious threat. His methods were well known and if war was declared then his family was in danger.

"No, I'm not. People died in that building, our people. No insurance policy or personal appearances at wakes are going to make up for that. It's only going to get worse…and closer to home."

"I know." Jian thumped his head against the glass and then sighed. "You must have something in mind."

"I do."

* * *

_[Lu Bu's apartment 1:00 pm_

Zhang Liao played with the simple brown grocery bag he was carrying in his left arm and made sure the DVDs that he was trying to sneak in weren't showing. As the elevator reached the penthouse floor, the reassuring tone sounded and the doors slid open. As he took the first step onto the landing his froze.

(BANG!)

"AHHHHHH! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!"

Liao put the brown bag down and pulled his pistol out in one swift movement. The scream was Lu Bu's and there had to be something extraordinarily traumatic to make his voice waver like that. Plus, the shot was definitely not from the Desert Eagle. Safety off, he swiftly sidestepped to the door and swung it open. As his pistol raise he saw another pointed at him.

"No…no.." Lu Bu whimpered cradling something in his arms.

Diao Chan looked at Liao and put her Sig stainless steel, pearl gripped P229 semi-automatic pistol down. "Hi Liao."

Liao looked at Lu Bu whining on the floor and realized that he was holding a little black box that resembled a PS2. "So..what's with the shooting and hollering?"

"SHE SHOT THE GAME!"

"You make six figures, just go buy another one."

"Why?" Liao asked hesitantly. He knew they could get kinky, but this was weird even for them. Slowly he put his gun away after clicking the safety back on.

"He's been playing that fucking Drakengard forever. All I hear, day and night is 'The goddess!' or 'Could that be the goddess?'. I've had it with that shit." Chan looked down at Lu Bu who was trying to pry the disc tray open.

"But I had to keep playing. I had to unlock all the endings and that meant I had to get all the weapons. ALL OF THEM!" Lu Bu finally opened the disk tray to find the disk shattered. "And now…it's broken."

"The memory card is fine." Liao plucked the small cartridge out and smiled.

"Which is why he can play it over at your house." Chan tapped her foot.

"Oh pumpkin…you can be so mean."

"I'm going to work." Chan threw up her hands and headed off to the bedroom.

"Pst…I have a consolation DVD." Liao ran back into the hall and retrieved his bag. Quickly he pulled it out and flashed to cover at his friend.

"Nanmans Gone Wild, volume four!"

"SHHHHH!" Liao kicked him. "I don't want it to get shot up."

Lu Bu crossed his legs and sat Indian style with a stupid grin on his face. "May need to borrow that one overnight."

* * *

_[LYPD Commissioner's office 1:00 pm_

"How many demeaning words are there?" Yuan Shao used his pen to count the number of derogatory remarks that Gan Ning had thrown at his son.

"Amazing how you have an endless storage capacity for vile remarks, but none for retention of knowledge regarding you job." Zhang He sat in the chair in front of his father's desk and stared at the disinterested detective.

"Go put on a goddamned dress and let me work." Ning growled. "I don't know who the hell you think you are…"

"He's my son." Yuan Shao looked up at the man he was rebuking, "And you should be thankful of that. An ordinary citizen would have sued the department and if my memory serves me right you were already responsible for that once before."

* * *

_[Downtown Luo Yang Seven Stars Parking Garage _5:00 pm

"What the hell is that?" Sun Jian looked at the awkward van in front of him.

Huang Gai bounced out of the back and jumped down in front of him. "Dodge Sprinter."

"I remember that in the old days we used to have a Charger."

"Yes, and we weren't going grey then now were we?"

"Hmmm." Jian fiddled with the baseball cap he had on and looked in the back of the van. Sure enough Huang Gai had all the materials they needed to topple the WWEI broadcasting tower and effectively shut down their studio for a few days. It was nothing overly destructive, but it would get the point across and no one would get hurt.

"You should tell Taisci Ci about this, shouldn't you? I mean it's sort of his territory."

"I don't want anyone else involved."


	8. Retaliation

_GTA: Luo Yang_

Chapter 8

**Retaliation**

_

* * *

_

_[WWEI HQ] Xiahou Dun's Office 11:30pm _

Xiahou Dun glanced up as the nightly news kicked off and the syndicated programming began. He was reviewing what Diao Chan had dredged up for him about WSUN and its partners. He was much more concerned with Taishi Ci's portion of the business than anyone else's; the radio station was his rival and it fell on his shoulders to take them out. Much more focused that way and anything that happened would at least look semi-legal. Right now it seemed that the most legitimate path was tipping off the FCC to Taishi Heng's uncensored rants. As petty as it seemed, having the FCC breathing down your neck was enough to drive some men insane. It would be a cheap distraction and the teenager made it all too easy.

He rolled his shoulder and rubbed his neck as his cell phone rang. The caller I.D. revealed who the person was. "Sorry, I know I promised to be home for dinner."

"_When you told me you had a meeting, I knew better_."

Dun smiled as his wife's voice betrayed her amusement. Cai Wengi had been his high school sweetheart, a match that baffled everyone from day one. She was a beautiful, intelligent girl and he a lanky street fighter; however she never let that stop her. He grinned as he remembered the day they got into a heated debate in History class and she asked him out on a date afterwards. She saw the desire to learn in him that most others could not and he never thought the Captain of the Academic Team would be in his pants in two weeks. Now, after 17 years of marriage, he had no doubt in his mind that she was preparing for dinner at midnight. "Sorry."

"_Just come home already. You'll be back in a few hours anyhow, I sent Mao out to drag you home. Don't take it out on him."_

"We'll put his car in the back of the truck when he gets here and come home." Dun mused, thinking about the tiny little Mazda his kid drove.

"_Stop it_. _Come home, dinner is in half an hour_."

Dun frowned as she hung up, not giving him the chance to have the last word. He reluctantly saved his work on the computer and began gathering up his paperwork. He stopped as he thought he heard a loud snap. He listened carefully and heard it again as it was followed by a squeaking sound and a groan of tormented metal. He looked behind him through the large picture glass window as the main broadcasting tower of WWEI was tipping. Dun stared in shock as the gigantic structure toppled, it's tension support lines snapping under the pressure. He heard the sound of the signal going offline before he saw one of the steel cables whip through the air towards his window. It wasn't enough time to hit the floor as the window shattered inwards and rained glass shrapnel across the office.

Dun hit the ground and it took a brief moment before the pain overwhelmed his senses. He reached up toward his left eye, the source of the most intense pain only to have his hand sliced by the glass protruding from him.

* * *

_(Cheng Du)Sleeping Dragon Inn 11:42pm_

Sun Shang Xiang smiled as she watched the fangirls cheer the boys of Shu Construction on the stage. "They're pretty good!"

Liu Bei nodded and pointed to the groupies. "They're good for businesss."

"I can see that." She bit her lip and ran her hand along the inside of his leg. "Want to go for a drive and check out the back seat of my car?"

He blushed and was glad the music was so loud. Nobody was paying any attention to them, he could very easily leave a note about having to catch up on work at the office or something to that effect. He cleared his throat as her hand began to inch closer to his crotch. "Yes."

"One of these days you'll have to take me on a proper date." She gave his genitals a squeeze and stood up. Then as if nothing interesting was going to happen, she picked up her purse and headed for the restroom. She hoped Liu Bei wasn't so out of practice as to follow her out like a lost puppy.

Bei waved at his waitress to get her attention. "Check please."

* * *

_(WWEI HQ) Parking Lot 11: 51 pm_

Xiahou Mao's Mazda Speed 3 zipped across the empty parking lot and noticed that his father's big blue truck was nowhere to be seen. He was about to turn around and head back home but something caught his eye. Sparks of light flashed around one of the towers and he thought he saw his dad's truck in the flicker of light. Mao turned off his radio and rolled down his window. Sure enough he could hear the F250's engine revving and a chain snapping. He opted to try his little turbocharged hatchback off-road and began to drive towards what appeared to be his father trying to drag a downed tower with his pick-up truck.

Xiahou Dun slammed his foot on the brake and threw the truck into park. He growled and jumped out of the truck. "Fucking plastic junk. My old truck could have done this but no….we all had to have new vehicles, right Mengde? Can't have your employees driving a functional vehicle, can we?"

"Dad?"

Dun looked up and had to turn his head to see if it was really his son. _Fucking stupid missing eye_. "What?"

The headlights of the Mazda were too low to illuminate his father's face until he walked around the other side of the truck. "Holy shit dad, what the hell happened to your eye?"

"It came out when I pulled the glass out." Dun said simply, as if it explained everything. "Now get your Uncle on the phone and tell him to get some real equipment down here. This fucking truck is worthless. I want this tower back up by dawn."

Mao nodded and went back to his car to sit down as his blood-soaked father readjusted the tow chains to try and lift the tower up himself. He flipped thru his cell contact list and found his Uncle Yuan's cell number. His hand shook as he pressed 'send' and felt his heart race as his crazy father jumped back in his truck and the wheels began to spin and fling dirt everywhere.

"_Do you realize what time it is?"_

"Uncle Yuan, it's Mao. I need help. Dad's hurt, his eye's missing and he's trying to use his truck to put the TV tower back up."

"_What?"_

"Just help, please. We're down at the station. You're the only one who can stop him, please." Mao plead, knowing his father was stubborn enough to bleed to death while doing something so foolish and futile. "He's going to kill himself. I don't know what to do."

"_Okay kid, take it easy. I'm on my way."_

* * *

(_WPC HQ) Main Conference Room 8:30 am_

Zhang Jiao looked at his brother Liang's latest schedule for public appearances and noticed an interview penciled in. "Who is Mi Heng?"

Zhang Liang didn't bother to look up from his laptop as he worked on another advertisement in Adobe PageMaker "He's that obnoxious satellite radio jock who insults everyone."

"You set this up?"

"Yes." Liang shifted around the WPC logo and reached over for his latte with his free hand. "The kids all listen to him via web broadcasts and he's hell bent on insulting Wei at the moment. I made it clear to his station manager that he should utilize this opportunity to add credentials to his bashing and not crucify you for fun. Just play the part of the innocent independent candidate who has to fund his own campaign while the corrupt mayor and arrogant Police commissioner roll in contributions from Wei and Wu."

"Hmmm."

"The majority of his audience is disgruntled and feels abused by the government and is jealous and hostile towards the prosperous and well-off. They blame their own inability to get ahead on society instead of their own short comings and see this outlandish idiot as a spokesman for them. Kids listen to him because they want to rebel against their parents. This is the audience you need; these are the people who want to hear how you will save them and give them what their neighbor's have that they envy. Let him be the prophet, you be the savior."

Jiao smiled and sipped his Chai tea. "I am truly blessed to have your support, brother."

"I do believe our other brother is currently working on another plan with that despicable Zhu Rong to make things even more interesting. I prefer to just work with the reports I get from the media, however, to avoid any usage of information I shouldn't be privy to."

"Excellent." Jiao closed his eyes. This time the Way of Peace would be a force to be reckoned with.

* * *

_(Luo Yang General Hospital) Room 42 8:37 am _

Cao Cao sat down in the visitor's chair as Cai Wengi brushed her husband's long hair with her fingers. "This will not go unpunished, cousin."

"You're going to get everyone killed." Wengi bit her lip as Dun's bandaged hand tried to wrap around hers.

"Is the tower back up yet?" Dun asked, slightly groggily from the drugs they were trickling into him to dull the pain.

"Yes." Cao reached over and pressed the power button on the TV to prove that WWEI was indeed back on the air, even if it was fuzzy.

"_This station was attacked in the night and our very own producer injured by this senseless attempt to silence WWEI." _ Zhen Ji's voice was crisp and solemn. "_Police are scouring the scene for evidence. They are, once again, without any suspects as crime continues to go unchecked. I assure you, faithful viewers, that we will not be silenced. The truth will continue to be broadcast and we will investigate this tragedy ourselves. This is Zhen Ji reporting live at WWEI Headquarters."_

"Let Xu Huang do the investigating segment, he's much better at it." Dun sighed. "She always sounds like such a frigid bitch when she's being serious. Huang sounds professional, always."

"I'm going to put Ren in charge of WWEI for the time being." Cao put his hand on his cousin's shoulder. "Just take some time and heal."

"What? You think my eye is going to grow back?" Dun snorted. "Fuck time off."

"Yuanrang." Wengi scolded but knew it was pointless.

"You said it, not me. Everyone is going to get killed." Dun looked up at her and gave her a weak smile. "So we're going to have to make sure we hit them hard."

"Don't worry cousin; I intend to do just that." Cao Cao stood and turned the television off.

"Mengde…" Wengi ground her teeth as she grew more frustrated with the stupid male ego. "Dammit, just once can't you be the better man? Just once can you be the one who ends this stupid feud before we all pay the price? How many more funerals do we have to attend before you've had enough?"

Cao Cao put the remote back down on the hospital bed next to his cousin's hand so that he wouldn't have to search too hard for it. "To end this….I have to win."

"At what cost?" Wengi growled as he left the room deep in thought.

* * *

_(Three Kingdoms Pencil Factory) Diao Chan's office. 9:37 am_

Diao Chan ran her fingers through the money in the envelope as she watched the WWEI beauty queen's report on the snowy screen. The cameraman panned the area and she wondered what amateur had thought it worth the effort to knock the tower down. Unless it was their intent to hospitalize Xiahou Dun and piss off Cao Cao, the task did very little but deny a few insomniacs a chance to watch infomercials in the middle of the night. She picked up the phone and dialed.

"_Zhang Jiao for Mayor Campaign headquarters, this is Bo Cai how can I assist you in understanding the Way of Peace_?"

"I would like to speak to Zhang Bao."

"_Yes, please hold."_

"_This is Zhang Bao_."

"This is Diao Chan, I was wondering if you might want to dig into your campaign funds a little more and capitalize on the current situation in Luo Yang?"

"_How much?"_

"I'll give you a discount since you have been a loyal customer." Chan smiled and began to pull up information in her computer. "I'll send you an invoice."

"_I'll have the funds by this afternoon."_

"You'll see results by happy hour."

* * *

_(WSUN Radio Station) 5:15 pm_

Taishi Ci rubbed his neck as he walked to his car. It had been a long day thanks to someone calling the FCC and complaining about his boy's uncensored outbursts on morning radio. Now he had a damned headache thanks to the government. He just wanted to go home and take a hot shower and ask his son why the hell he had to call Zhen Ji a "cum dumpster" on public radio.

Zhang Liao knelt down and shouldered his M-79 grenade launcher. This would be the first time he had a chance to use his birthday present and he should have been happier about it.. "What does this really accomplish? If someone wants this guy dead, why not do it themselves?"

"Eh. Some people never do anything for themselves. " Lu Bu leaned against the edge of the building and handed his friend the flechette round. "At least you get to play with your new toy."

"I suppose it's all prelude to something much bigger."

"So Chan says." Lu Bu locked his eyes on the man searching in his pocket for keys. He heard the sound of the gun firing and didn't flinch; he wanted to see what this round would do to the guy. He wasn't disappointed as the little darts hit their mark and embedded in the man's back like porcupine needles. "Neat."

Liao shrugged. "Would have been better in a crowd. A touch dramatic for just one guy."

"I really want some broasted chicken. Let's go to Ben and Joy's." Lu Bu felt his stomach gurgle and swirled his keys on his finger.

"Chicken…" Liao mused. "What about Stan's?"

Lu Bu smiled. "That does sound good. Let's go."

Taishi Ci had no idea what hit him until he saw the small darts embedded in his Dodge Magnum and saw his own blood begin to puddle around him. He fumbled in his briefcase for his blackberry, only to find it shattered by one of the flechette needles. With little choice he began to drag himself back to the station door, hoping to be able to lift himself up and open the door when he got there. He was beginning to have a hard time breathing and blood began to gurgle into his throat. He weakly coughed and rested his head on the sidewalk as a grey Porsche pulled out of the alley and zipped away. It was the last thing he saw.

* * *

_(WWEI HQ) Xiahou Dun's Office 5:51 am_

Cao Ren wasn't really that surprised when he opened the door to his cousin Dun's office and found him sitting there drinking his coffee. "At least you were kind enough to not show up to work in your hospital gown."

"I don't need time off. I need to take care of business and this war is the best thing for business." Dun sat back in his chair and grunted. "I want revenge."

"So it wasn't you who had Taishi Ci whacked last night?" Cao Ren tossed the printout of the Sun Times over onto Dun's desk and watched the man grab blindly in an attempt to catch it where he couldn't see. He frowned and looked at the hastily repaired windows that were covered in plywood and plastic to keep out the weather. "TV killed the radio star?"

"Funny. Now I'm glad I didn't let you run my station for even a minute."

"Dun…"

"Ren, go back home. You never cared for any of this; you always wanted to explore an option other than violence. That's why you went overseas to keep your hands clean and conscious clear."

"Yes, because I definitely qualify for sainthood by converting Xu Zhu's porn into PAL format." Ren frowned; his cousin's injury was making him more blunt and unbearable.

"You know what I mean. You stay in your fancy office and direct traffic, never get yourself into the actual business you supervise. We do. That's why you belong somewhere else, you want to be isolated and frankly I don't want to be standing next to you in the coming fight." Dun crumpled the sheet of paper of the E-Times and tossed it at the wastebasket and missed.

"Mengde called me back."

"For what?"

"To safeguard WEI assets and make sure that while you're all involved in eliminating the competition you don't leave tracks that take down this company. You're right, I stay distanced; I run the business, no matter what it is."

"Good. Go do that somewhere else." Dun grabbed his phone and pressed a speed dial button. "Unless you want to make my coffee?"

"Don't be…"

"You better tell me that you have a report on this Taishi Ci drive-by." Dun barked into the phone.

Ren frowned. It was bad enough being berated by his cyclopic cousin, but now he was being ignored.

"Good." Dun slammed the phone down. "I guess they're not helpless after all. She's got footage of Taishi Heng accusing her of killing his father. That should be interesting."

"As I was saying," Ren continued.

"Want to get breakfast?"

"What?"

"Come on. I want some pancakes with my Vicadin."

* * *

_(Wei International) Cao Cao's office 8:31 am_

"How is Dun?" Cao Cao asked without looking up from his notes.

"Himself." Cao Ren quietly entered the room and looked at the pictures of them as kids that sat on a bookcase in the corner. Ren was never Cao's favorite cousin, not by a long shot, however he was the one that he felt he owed something. In Mengde's younger days he was a delinquent and reveled in causing problems. Ren's own father, Cao Chi, stepped in and tried to be a positive influence, instead a devious Cao Cao pretended to have a seizure. Chi panicked and went for help, only to return to a seemingly fine teenager who called him a liar. Cao Song, ever the paranoid man, thought Chi was trying to cause problems and eventually ended up firing him because of it. Ren's father struggled to find another job, outside of the family business, and they ended up losing the house and having to move.

After Cao Song was murdered and Cao Cao inherited a broadcasting legacy, he tried to make amends by offering Ren a job. As time progressed, Cao's generosity became overwhelming, especially when Ren lodged protests about some of the unsavory business transactions. Somehow he had allowed Mengde to convince him that he would be insulting him if he didn't accept the gifts for his hard work and loyalty. He protested, but wanted to provide for his parents everything they had lost, so ultimately was defeated by his own filial piety. He tried to ignore the details of his work, though the basic humanitarian aspects haunted him. Now, however, he was here to safeguard the company and if he played his cards right then perhaps he could ease his conscience a bit. "We need to talk."

"Ren…" Cao knew this was coming. He was getting tired of coming up with reasons for Ren to simply accept that some of the companies branches would remain politically incorrect.

"Hear me out." Ren looked at a picture of the Cao/Xiahou family reunion at Xia Pi Amusement Park when they were young and innocent. That place was now abandoned and the cold, rusting structures hadn't seen visitors in years. "Things have changed since I was here last."

"They always do, though it hardly helps to get sentimental now. I need you here and I'm not quite ready for you to hop on a plane and go back to where you don't have to deal with it."

"Back then this town was different. I feel like we're in the dark ages." Ren paused and looked at four smiling kids in their swim trunks posing for a picture. Yuan was giving him bunny ears and Dun's arm was looped around Cao's neck, ready to give him a nuggie. "You can change that, instead of just contributing to the problem. You're the only one that could rise above all this and make something of Luo Yang again."

Cao looked up at his cousin and rested his head on his hand. "What are you suggesting?"

"That you should be running for mayor instead of backing that vile Dong Zhuo." Ren turned and looked at Mengde's tired face. "Get rid of the parts of this company that are despicable. Cut them out like a cancer and focus on what really makes you money now. It's not the damned porn, smuggling and foreign trade that makes you money anymore. There was a time when you needed income to supplement the company's growth, when profits were hard to come by, but those days are long gone. The world has entered a digital age; paper media and radio are a dying breed. You don't have to worry about competition from Sun Jian anymore. Progress has defeated him."

"You think I should run for mayor?"

"We get rid of the assets that could tarnish you first, and then you quit backing a tyrant and take control of Luo Yang." Ren put his hands in his pockets. "I don't have to tell you everything is in good hands. Besides, it's probably time Cao Pi learns to start standing up for something."

"That's a hell of a pay cut, but appealing none-the-less." Cao Cao looked down at his notes for how he wanted Sun Jian's children punished for the TV tower fiasco and stood up. "I'll think about it."

"You've lost a son and Dun's lost his eye." Ren shook his head. "For what? Business? That's a hell of a loss, it better be for something a hell of a lot bigger than the quarterly profits. Where are those losses on the P&L?"

"Be prepared to have a working plan in the morning." Cao Cao looked down at the notes on his desk; there were a few loose ends that needed to be tied up first. An eye for an eye, as the old saying went. Or in this case, a son.

* * *

_(Downtown Luo Yang) Sun Times Construction Site 7:07 pm_

Zhang Liao sat on the rooftop and looked through the binoculars to see what Liu Bei was doing in the construction trailer outside the new Sun Times building. Candles, wine and cheesecake didn't seem like such a bad idea. He had arrived earlier and taken care to choose the best spot to send Shang Xiang off the highway and into the building. Cao Cao's request was a touch dramatic, he wanted all the Sun kids to have 'accidents' just like the Wei broadcasting tower and that meant the Underground was going to have to get creative. Liao drew the straw to help Shang Xiang's Jeep off the road and put her into the construction trailer where Liu Bei was waiting to seduce her. The best part is that Cao Cao wanted her to live so that Liu Bei's secret affair would be exposed and drive a wedge between him and Sun Jian.

Some people expected too much, especially when orders were to not use any explosives or firearms. Today, he was going to have to drive her off the road at an exact location with a stolen city snow plow. At least he was going to be able to run the damned thing off the Chang Ban Bridge and into the river. Something was very poetic about watching a huge truck fly off a broken bridge into a murky river.

* * *

_(Chang Ban Bridge) 7:56 pm_

Zhou Tai's head rested against the old Dodge Ram's seat and he stared up at the sky. The old police radio chatter droned on as he turned off his truck and he sighed. He had finally left work after logging a few extra hours and he had a horrible headache. Yuan Shao was breathing down their necks for answers about the Ma massacre and he had none. Ning just had to remind the commissioner that there were other murders and attempted murders to worry about, so he should get off their backs. Nice, Ning.

After that joy, his Captain informed him that Internal Affairs was opening an investigation into several of his officers. Namely Gan Ning. His Captain, Gongsun Zan, was never really fond of Gan Ning but had a dicey history with Yuan Shao and sided with his own men. He warned Tai, knowing an investigation into his partner would ultimately address his performance as well. Fantastic.

He really wasn't interested in heading home though; the small apartment was depressing and stifling. Tonight he just wanted to enjoy being outside, where it was quiet. He felt himself drawn to this spot; it provided an excellent view of the collapsed Chang Ban Bridge that had been washed away in a bad storm. The city was taking it's time repairing the old relic and the moonlight shining on the crumbling concrete and twisted rebar tickled his morbid curiosity. Here he could watch the river and the reflection of the city's lights without having to deal with it. If he got too close, he would inevitably see some crime being committed and be obligated to take care of it, even if he was off duty. Here, there really wasn't much worth vandalizing. In the daylight it was vile, but nightfall hid the shoreline and he could enjoy the solitude.

That solitude was momentary as he heard what sounded like classical music echoing across the water before a truck went flying off the Chang Ban Bridge and into the Chang Jiang. His reaction was instant as the keys turned and the engine roared to life. His job had reduced his reaction times to such events. Whereas most people would still be standing there staring, Tai was already tearing up the dirt road to the freeway to get to the next bridge in order to get to the right side of the river. He plugged the red flashing light into the cigarette lighter and pushed his foot down. A few drivers got out of his way, but most he had to go around as they flipped him the finger. It took him a good ten minutes to get to the scene.

Tai called in the accident and an officer was on his way along with the port authority patrol boat. There weren't survivors, that was a given. Still, whoever drove that truck off the bridge wanted to reenact the sinking of the Titanic, they had obliterated all the 'Bridge Out' signs with the beast on its way to a watery grave. The signs were thrown off to the side, which was something a truck of that size wouldn't do unless it had a plow on it. Unable to do much without a forensics team he drove down to the water's edge and parked. Tai squatted next to his truck, trying to use the weak headlights to illuminate the surface of the water. He stood as the police radio cracked back to life, assuming it was going to be the dispatcher telling him his back-up was going to an actual crime scene and his could wait till morning.

"… _officer to…near…"_

Tai reached in and slapped the damned thing as it began to break up.

"_Jeep Wrangler off the freeway into a construction trailer at Sun Times."_

Tai blinked and the hairs on his neck rose. He grabbed the mic. "Please repeat, you are breaking up."

"_Any available officer to a guardrail break near the He Fei exit on the expressway. A jeep was run off the road into the Sun Times construction site and the guardrail break needs to be attended while road crews are rerouted_."

"Who was in the Jeep?" Tai snapped all too quickly. "Please, this is Detective Zhou Tai officer number 421001, please get in contact with the responding officer and tell me who was in that car."

Tai jumped in the truck and grabbed his cell phone. He called Zhou Yu as the radio fell silent while the dispatcher tried to hail the officer. "Yu?"

"_What's wrong_?"

"Where are Ce and Quan?"

"_I don't know. Why_?"

"_Detective Zhou, it's Sun Shang Xiang. She's being sent to Luo Yang General as we speak_."

"_Who was that? What's happened_?"

"Yu, I don't have time to explain. Shang's heading to the hospital, " Tai threw his truck in reverse to get back onto the road and away from the mess under the bridge. "I need to know where Ce and Quan are now!"

"_I'll call you back_."

Tai hoped they would answer; he hoped it wasn't too late. As his brother hung up he dialed Ning to get him heading in the direction of the Sun mansion to hopefully track down Ce while he went to check out the paper mill where Quan spent most of his life.

* * *

_(Ice Fortress Ice Cream and Treats) 8:22 pm_

Lu Bu felt like he was driving a battleship, the 1982 Pontiac Grand Prix was a rude awakening and he was a bit pissed at himself for choosing the damned thing. Still, it seemed like the appropriate vehicle for a drive-by. He had to agree with Liao, these hits were getting to be pretty dramatic. Liao was beginning to get annoyed with it all, he could tell that much, and these choreographed hits weren't helping. He sighed as he waited for Sun Ce to get out of his Viper and go get ice cream. His phone rang on the seat next to him and he grabbed it. "Man, this is boring."

"_I got the truck going off the bridge on my phone, it was quite poetic_."

"Liao, is it just me or do you feel like it's beneath us to have to follow Cao Cao's inter-office memo word for word?"

"_I think it would be cheaper to actually pay some gang banger to do this shit instead of make us pretend to be, but I know we're a bit more reliable. He's paying, I guess he can get picky."_

"Eh." Lu Bu watched Sun Ce finally get out of his car. The guy was on his cellphone and he finally finished up the conversation as he took a few steps away from the car. "Hang on Liao." Lu Bu placed the phone on the seat and shifted the car into drive. The transmission made a clunk and a grind before lurching into a roll.

Sun Ce rolled his eyes as he put his cell back in his pocket. Zhou Yu was becoming more of a mother than a brother at this point, telling him to get home because he was in danger. First he'd get ice cream, and then he'd go home and find out why his best friend was so upset. He heard tires squealing and turned to see an old ghetto-mobile peeling down the road. He had no time to react as an automatic rifle poured bullets into the parking lot and into his body. Ce was dead before his body hit the ground.

Lu Bu set the AK-47 back down on the seat and picked his phone back up. "Well, I have the dead gangbanger in the back seat just for that special touch. I took his car and gun, I thought he might like to be found with all of it. Want to help set it on fire?"

"_Sure!_"

"How about over at Chibi docks?"

"_Can we put it on a barge and set it adrift on the river?"_

"That is classy." Lu Bu hung up and tried to adjust the rearview mirror to see the reaction behind him but the stupid thing broke and fell to the floor. He frowned and slammed his head into the headrest. These hits were grating on his nerves now. If Cao Cao wanted this primetime drama he should be watching CSI or something instead of demanding they play these foolish parts.

* * *

_(Shu Contruction) Liu Bei's House 8:25 pm_

Dian Wei really liked old houses; they always burnt so well. He stood in Liu Bei's basement and eyed the old wood furnace. He felt like a kid again; arson used to be his favorite pastime. Though this antique furnace made it all too simple. He swung a full backpack off his shoulder and opened up the door and tossed it in. Now he could take a walk down the road back to his Navigator and watch the show. He wasn't sure if the old thing would explode and take the house down that way or if it would blow and spew flames everywhere. That was the best part of all, he couldn't wait to find out!

* * *

_(Sun Mills) Parking Lot 8:45 pm_

Zhou Tai raised his weapon, fired and watched another man go down. He felt the blood dropping from his face; he was lucky the last slice didn't hit his eye. However the blood flowed freely and began to impede his vision. He looked over at Sun Quan as the attackers fled. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah…" Quan blinked at him. "You don't look so hot."

"We should get to the hospital." Tai wiped blood off and tried to feel for the extent of the damage to his face. He fumbled for his phone and called Gan Ning. "Dammit answer…"

"_Speak_."

"Find Sun Ce, now! Quan was just attacked." He clenched his fists, "I think Lu Bu is the one who has his mark."

"_Shit_!"

Tai hung up. "Can you call Sun Ce?"

"Yes." Quan nodded and began to make the call. "My brother…"

"We'll find him." Tai said confidently, without betraying the despair he was feeling. He looked down at his chest and put his finger through the slice in his shirt. He blinked away some blood and pulled his jacket over his shredded shirt. He had work to do, no time to worry about scratches.

"Tai, you saved my life." Quan was still in shock. One minute he was unlocking his car door and the next minute he was surrounded by masked muggers with knives. Tai had arrived just in time to save him. A second later and he would have had his throat slit.

"Ning will hopefully do the same for your brother." He looked around at the bodies as Quan tried to call his brother. Everything had happened so fast, he honestly wasn't expecting his hunch to be so accurate. His truck pulled into the parking lot just in time to see 8 men surrounding Sun Quan, and he ran over two of them to try and distract them. Two more were shot as he opened the door of the truck, then he himself became a victim. Ski masks could hide faces, but certainly not the body. He had seen that body before when Lu Bu's girlfriend was flaunting it in his face. Diao Chan's reputation was dead on and she had carved him up pretty bad before he could land a blow with his fist and pick up the gun he had dropped.

"It's going straight to voicemail." Quan took another look at Tai and thought he might be sick. That was a lot of blood. "You…really need to get to the hospital now."

"We both do."

* * *

_(Lou Yang General Hospital) 9:45 pm_

Tai sat down on the bench in the hallway as Sun Jian and Liu Bei fired back insult after insult. He stared at his phone, willing the call to come from Gan Ning to tell him he saved the day. The young nurse fussed with his bandages as she listened in to the argument behind them.

"You goddamned pervert. She's half your age! I thought Cao Cao was the one I was supposed to be wary of! Damn me for letting you have the chance to stab me in the back!" Sun Jian sneered.

"She's a grown woman and our relationship is none of your concern!" Liu Bei hollered back.

"It's because of you that she's in there! Otherwise she would have never been by that fucking building! That's my child and I want her no where near you!"

"Well my child is in intensive care because someone just burnt my house down….you wouldn't know anything about that would you?" Liu Bei snapped.

"Enough." Both men turned to see Sun Shang Xiang emerge from her room pushing the IV stand with her. She reached out for Liu Bei and he leapt to her side. "What happened to Shan?"

"My house was burnt down, he was upstairs playing video games….he inhaled a lot of smoke. Zilong saved him, he was working late and saw the flames. He used my tractor to help Chan out of the window." Bei tenderly caressed her face. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." She smiled. "Just a few scratches. My brothers did more damage than this when we were kids." She smiled and leaned into his chest, ignoring the hot glares from her father.

Zhao Yun raised his eyebrows. He had no idea Liu Bei was seriously involved with Lady Sun. He jumped as the detective tossed his cell phone against the wall and jumped off the bench, cursing. He felt a chill run down his spine as the man ran his hands through his hair and turned to the group with a somber expression.

"He was… too late." Zhou Tai closed his eyes. Gan Ning arrived just in time to declare the site a crime scene and cover the body so the press wouldn't have too much to look at. It was uncharacteristic for Lu Bu, he never liked to use automatic rifles to take someone out. Obviously Diao Chan had chosen his weapon for him, probably right before he picked up her knives to leave the apartment. Did it matter? Sun Ce was dead.

"What?" Sun Shang Xiang asked seeing the color drain from her father's face.

"Sun Ce is dead….we were too late." Tai sighed as Shang began to cry into Liu Bei's chest. "I…I'll go see to it things are taken care of properly."

"I'll go with you." Jian said, determined.

"No." Tai shook his head knowing the bullet riddled body of the Sun family heir was a gruesome scene.

"He's my son!"

"Which is why you need to stay here with your daughter. Let me do my job." Tai picked up his jacket. "Just keep Zhou Yu away…please?"

* * *

_(Ice Fortress Ice Cream and Treats) 10:15 pm_

"Too late!" Zhou Yu took another jab at Gan Ning who danced away with the grace of a seasoned fighter. "My brother is lying here dead because you couldn't do your fucking job right!"

"Easy!" Ning dodged another punch and then landed a right hook in the man's face. "I got here as soon as I could! Fuckin hell, he was whacked by a professional killer you think anyone could have stopped this?"

Zhou Tai arrived in time to see his little brother receive a kick to the stomach. "Ning, back off!"

"He's your brother! You better take him somewhere before I put _him_ in the hospital!" Ning growled.

"Gongjin, you don't need to be here." Tai grabbed his brother's arm and began to pull him away from the scene. Despite being lankier and shorter, Zhou Yu was surprisingly strong.

"He's my sworn brother! I've already failed him in life…I won't fail him in death."

"As your blood brother, I will kick your ass if you don't get in my damned truck and shut the fuck up." Tai growled.

For the first time since he arrived, Zhou Yu looked Tai in the face. "What happened to you?"

"Diao Chan." He grunted and opened the door for him.

Zhou Yu looked at the gash in his brother's face. "What the hell happened?"

"Get in the truck." Tai nodded as the sounds of the police sirens wailed in the distance. "You don't need to be here."

Zhou Yu nodded understanding that his big brother was trying to protect him from what was about to happen; Sun Ce being zipped into a body bag, drenched in his own blood. "Sure."

* * *

_(Luo Yang General Hospital) 10:23 pm_

Sun Jian stood in the hallway, his head resting on the wall behind him. He was waiting for Liu Bei to leave his daughter's room, as angry as he was about their romance he knew he was going to have to get over it. Someone had tried to take both of them out of contention by attacking their most vulnerable spot, their children.

Liu Bei opened the door and saw Jian standing outside, obviously waiting to ambush him. He closed the door gently, not wanting to wake Shang. "Jian…"

"We need to talk." The Sun patriarch had his hands in his pockets. He needed to be down at the police station soon, Tai had called a few minutes earlier to tell him that Gan Ning was handling everything and he was taking his brother back to his apartment. Within the next few hours he would have to go down and see his boy….

"Yes." Liu Bei nodded and followed the taller man down the hallway. "I should check up on Shan, first."

"We can talk on the way." Jian sighed. "They hit us hard. I should have known he'd attack my kids."

"Cao Cao…" Liu Bei swallowed hard. How was he going to win against a man like that? He didn't have the resources or the background…he was just too damned honest to fight in this war.

"That son of a bitch." Jian balled his fist. "I'll make him pay for what he has done."

Liu Bei walked down the corridor quietly, wondering how he could really assist in all of this. He questioned whether or not he really wanted to. He had almost lost Shan and Shang, his house was in ruins and he really was ready to admit that it had him scared enough. "This can only get worse from here."

"We hit him hard, hard enough to make him think twice about ever trying to take control of this city again." Jian slammed his fist into his hand. "No, we destroy him because he will only come after us again."

Liu Bei raised an eyebrow. "We? I'm a simple man Jian, I have no place in politics or gang wars."

"You really don't have a choice anymore. In his eyes, you are my ally." Jian patted the man on the shoulder.

* * *

_(Luo Yang ) Imperial Park Apartment complex 11:42 pm_

Zhou Yu frowned as he looked around the small apartment. It was functional, but dated. The avocado appliances should have been shipped off to a museum. He sat down on a worn couch and sank in. He wasn't sure if his brother liked things this way or he just had no other choice. "Nice place."

"No, it's not." Tai smiled and took a beer from the refrigerator. He handed it to his brother and watched his nose wrinkle in disgust. "Just drink it."

"I don't need my senses numbed." Zhou Yu muttered and put the cold beverage down on a tacky coffee table that should have been at a thrift store. "Thank you though."

"I'm sorry." Tai sighed. "I…"

"You can't save everyone, Tai." Zhou Yu smiled. "Someone paid good money to have him killed. They would have succeeded eventually."

Tai sighed. He hated how rational Zhou Yu could always be, no matter what the situation. Everything, like his newsprint, was black and white. "You have to be careful Gongjin, don't be the asshole you usually are."

"It's the only way I know how to react." He said with a weary smile. "Lets go downtown. I'm sure Sun Jian doesn't want to do this alone."

"Sure."

"I will retaliate Tai." Zhou Yu assured his brother.

"You still have a lot to lose."


End file.
